One More Night
by eravicis
Summary: It was almost a mistake. Almost. But it was enough and now Keith and Pidge have to pay for the consequences of what they thought didn't happen, but happened. And then they realized what they wouldn't give to have one more night.
1. Surprising End

**Summary** :

It was almost a mistake. Almost. But it was enough and now Keith and Pidge have to pay for the consequences of what they thought didn't happen, but happened. And then they realized what they wouldn't give to have one more night.

 **Author's Note** :

Quite honestly, I cannot believe I'm here, but I am. At any rate, I'm taking this plot bunny and booking it. Let's see where this will go tbqh. If this garners enough interest, I'll keep it going so let me know your thoughts. Everyone's aged to be just a few years apart rather than the canon ages and they're all 18+. Moving this from Ao3 to here. Enjoy.

 **Disclaimer** :

 _Voltron: Legendary Defender_ and all related characters and elements are the property, copyright, and trademark of Dreamworks, World Eventus Productions, Studio Mir, and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright, or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fanfiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to the doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fanfiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.

In other words, I own nothing but the plot.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Surprising End**.

A petite and small girl of barely five foot four glared at the woman that sat primly on her bed with a pleading gaze and hands clasped in front of her. Her arms crossed her chest and squinted at her longtime friend, Allura, with disbelief and a deeply etched scowl on her face that it was near permanent. Her fingers tapped impatiently on her arm.

"Oh, please, Pidge? You know I have no one else to ask to go with me," Allura asked, dropping her hands to her lap.

She could feel her eye twitching in displeasure. A hand splayed across her forehead, shaking her head before casting a long look and an exaggerated sigh, "But you said Matt and Shiro are coming? Why do you have to bring me too?"

Allura sighed, "Because I'd like us to experience together what dressing up and having fun as only girls can!" Her eyes were bright and sparkly eyed. Pidge had to agree that it'd be a first for her too, especially since she just hit eighteen, but that did not mean she agreed. However, considering Allura's work driven and hyper-focused studies at Altea University, the smaller girl was considering on going along with it. She knew Allura didn't go out much and the few occasions where she asked were for special events that often had her dragging anyone from their group to go.

And Pidge was the only other girl in the group.

Heaving a heavy sigh, dropping her hand. "Who else is going?" She swore she was going to strangle someone...

Allura looked thoughtful. She pulled out her phone to glance at text messages. Locking the screen once more, she said, "Well, I've invited Shiro and your brother, but it appears Matt had just told Shiro that he is occupied with an assignment he can't get out of." Sounded like him. "And then Shiro asked if he could invite his other friends too, which I'll assume is Lance, Keith, and Hunk."

So, basically, everyone and Pidge slapped her forehead with her hand.

Exasperated, she summed up the situation, "Let me get this straight," she used her hands, gesturing to the number of people and herself, "I was the last one to be asked to go and I'm asked to go because you want us to dress up. Which, in actuality, you just want to show off a bit for the night." She inwardly shuddered, contemplating what on earth Pidge had to show when she barely had a figure like Allura's.

"Not… exactly, but you're my best friend, Pidge, so technically, I've asked you first. I don't know if Shiro had already asked the boys yet." A flicker of guilt crossed her features. Thank God for decency. "It'll be fun, Pidge."

Pidge pinched the bridge of her nose. With a sigh, she rubbed her hands on her face and pushed up the faux glasses she wore. With a groan, she gave the confirmation, "Okay, Allura, I'll go. Grudgingly."

With a squeal and Pidge covering her ears, she watched Allura bounce around the room and for them to get ready. It was rare to see Allura so excited, but she knew the reason why she was.

It was the first time they were going to really unwind since school had started. All of them were swamped with projects, assignments, and extra work of their curriculum that none of them had ever had the chance to catch up on old times. Having been friends since high school did that to you, even with the age differences in their home away from home. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, glad to see Allura so relaxed. She had been grieving for a while when her father had passed away just a few months ago. It made things difficult to really talk about fun activities when Allura decided to throw herself into school work and her extracurriculars.

It helped that Shiro was there to lend a hand and her family caretaker, Coran, for taking care of the funeral.

"Okay, Allura, calm time… let's…" She could not believe she was doing this and glanced longingly to the scattered mechanical parts decorating her half of the apartment before returning her glance to her friend. "Let's go…" she shuddered, unable to believe what she's about to say, "shopping."

Another squeal as her friend gave her a quick squeeze and prepared the stress of them going out to a nightclub.

* * *

Five hours later, Pidge was wearing a single slinky one-piece dress that embellished the curves she had. (She was regretting it, but Allura insisted it was the perfect one.) Black in color (she wanted to laugh at the idea of a little black dress) with a teal ribbon around the waist and collar that wrapped like a choker. There was a sheer wrap from the choker neckpiece spread down to the heart shaped the top of the dress, accentuating the modest smaller B-cup sized breasts. (Nowhere near Allura's…) The dress flared out from her waist, making her appear curvier with a petticoat underneath to give it poof and was altogether sleeveless.

"Hold still, please," Allura commanded and Pidge stiffened reluctantly. If she didn't know any better, it was like they were going to friggin' prom.

"Is this really necessary?" she retorted, knowing full well the basic and simplistic style of her bun was going to be ruined anyway.

Allura hummed, giggling mixed in, "Of course! I need to have you looking amazing for the boys." She giggled. "They'll be so surprised to see tomboy Pidge looking absolutely gorgeous."

Pidge resisted the urge to grind her teeth, recalling how they had once commented that she was too focused on school to really pay attention to her looks. "I look nice enough with just basic makeup, alright? They just fail to notice, as usual."

"True, you've been looking a lot nicer as of late." No holds barred here and the honesty in their relationship was what helped keep their thoughts and opinions in perspective. Then there was the twirl of her hair and she resisted making another grunt of discomfort. Absently, Pidge had the mind to at least take care of her skin with basic skincare and bare minimum makeup. She didn't wear anything else aside from some foundation and mascara, but it was enough. It just made her look cleaner and easier on the eyes. "And I do thank you for taking my advice."

Pidge resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "It's… well, it's beneficial to look presentable." And near flawless like Allura was. Any other kind of makeup was too much for the mechanically inclined genius. Normally, looks didn't bother her, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be hearing the voices of people who constantly compared her to her best friend's looks.

There was a faint tugging on her head, "There! Done! Take a look!" and the chair whirled around for her to face the mirror.

Pidge's eyes grew wide, blinking repeatedly when she couldn't believe who was looking back at her. She hardly looked like herself… she didn't look like herself and in fact, a completely beautiful girl was blinking right back at her in disbelief.

Her hair was tucked neatly to the left side of her head, some curls falling out forward to cover her ear and was accessorized by a three-set flower of a similarly shaded teal to match her dress. Glasses was cast aside and her eyes were tastefully styled with subtle gold smokey eyeshadow that gave her a cat-like gaze with dark eyeliner and mascara. The speckle of glittery gold on her arms and over her cheeks on top of the slight pink made her shimmer like a star that matched the faint shimmer of her pink lips. She reached out to touch the mirror and the underside of her neck, breathless at the makeover. "A-Allura… I…"

"You're beautiful, Pidge." Her voice was soft, a hint of pride, and emotions that Pidge had to turn to face her best friend.

"Ho-How…? I'm—?" She tried to blink back the burning in her eyes, overwhelmed with an emotion she didn't know she could and thought she'd have: complete and utter confidence in herself.

She never knew how powerful makeup could be to a girl until now, the underlying insecurity that she'd never been as pretty as Allura always haunted her but she ignored it in favor of her need for knowledge. It was obliterated now, the confidence she needed now firmly rooted and stuck there as if it'd never go away. She knew she didn't need makeup, didn't need the fancy dresses, and the accessories that she felt out of place on her once she decided to focus on her education. Her focus on her passion, the love of her life that was technology and robotics, overrode every other kind of insecurity she had for herself. But this, this, was something she understood and can now relate as to why so many girls had felt so insecure with themselves in their looks. Society, Pidge knew, dictated everything on looks, no matter where one's from and who they are. She preferred, and always will, to show off her prowess, skill, and knowledge in her field so that looks were not always everything.

But she could not deny that makeup, in its own right, was magic.

Allura beamed, "See? I told you this was a good idea. Ah, what a gift to me."

"Gi-No! I—!"

"Oh, don't worry Pidge, I know your birthday present is somewhere here." She shrugged, placing her hands on her hips. A sly smirk made its way across her face and a mischievous glint sparkled in her eye. "Oh, wait until the boys get a load of this. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces."

Finally, some semblance of normalcy smacked Pidge back into her normal self and she snorted with the crossing of her arms and rolling of her eyes, "I don't think they'd know who I am. How much you wanna bet?"

Allura's smirk grew, "Oh, this will be good… it won't be so much of a bet so much, as I dare say it, a prank. Let's give them ten minutes. That work for you? I don't think your acting has gotten rusty, has it?"

Oh, hell no. "Of course not." Acting, something Pidge was an almost expert in when she was trying to play off as her brother's brother when she was younger. She had given herself the name "Pidge Gunderson" when she first met some of Matt's friends, something she was experimenting with out of sheer curiosity, and they bought it. It wasn't until when puberty hit did people realize that Pidge was, in fact, Katie, Matt's sister. It was always funny to see that Matt had gone along with it when they were younger, and now, he was the stereotypical overprotective older brother over his prodigious younger sister.

But this time, she was going to act like the girly girl that she was not. Should be easy enough.

Allura bit her lower lip, trying not to laugh. "Alright, I think it's almost time to meet up with the others. You ready?"

Pidge nodded. Helping Allura get ready by pulling her dress from the bed to the bathroom where they were, she zipped her up in conservative, but stylish silver and black dress that flared from her waist and had nothing but all neck and shoulders of skin. Her beautiful silvery white hair was pulled up into large curls and then pinned to the top of her head, leaving only one layer of curled hair hanging down her back. There was a single strand down the side of her face and she accessorized with a sleek long silver chain necklace and a bracelet. Elegant was perhaps the perfect word for Allura, donning an inch and half black strappy heel in the doorway.

Pidge herself slid on a pair of comfortably worn leather nude colored ankle boots with a comfortable inch heel.

Allura gave her a look and Pidge shrugged. Underneath their dresses were both of their phones and bare minimum cards and cash needed for the night so a clutch was unnecessary as it was strapped to their inner thighs. (An accessory made by her.)

"Shiro should be coming to get us soon." Allura reiterated, recalling their plans. "So we should be at the club in a little under an hour."

Pidge nodded. It sounded promising enough. Hopefully, her brother would be too distracted by other things to go into his protective brother mode while they were out. After all, she was finally getting into this whole "party" idea and wanted to try what Lance often said as "loosening up" and actually having some fun for once. Though, she could already hear Hunk making a smart remark on how this was a bad idea.

* * *

A change of plans happened and Allura had to have Coran drive them instead, Shiro apologized profusely when he explained that Lance's car broke down and now needed a ride to the club. Having to go pick up the other left Coran to volunteer to take the girls to the club upon hearing the problem.

Stepping out of the car after the promise of calling him when they were finished, it looked as though they were the first to arrive. Mildly, Pidge observed the chill of the evening, glad for the carbohydrate intensive meal that she and Allura had before arriving as a way of absorbing the excess alcohol that they were going to consume.

Light brown eyes looked up to the sleek modern building of glass, metal, and contemporary architecture. Sharp black lines of the building protruded into the night sky with a white outer frame that had accented navy lights reflected onto itself behind the entryway door. A garble of voices was heard that Pidge glanced over at the growing line and the loud music that could be heard from where she stood. Muffled electronic dance music could be felt that she was briefly considering how many decibels it'd take to probably destroy the building…

"Pidge."

She turned around to find Allura looking amused. "I see you're as excited as a kid in a candy store."

"Right, I'm dying to get inside," Pidge replied flatly with an equally flat expression.

Allura gave a snort, trying not laugh hard when a familiar voice called out to them, "Allura!"

Her eyes followed the sound, watching as Shiro approached with Hunk following behind.

"Hello Shiro, Hunk." Her eyes flitted between the two of them while Pidge waited patiently to begin their prank.

"Hey Allura," Hunk glanced to the girl standing beside Allura and blinked. Wh-Who was she? And when did Allura make a new friend as pretty as her? "Um… new… friend?"

Shiro smiled in greeting to Allura, "Good evening Allura." And then his shadowy gaze flicked back to Pidge, pausing as he blinked, repeatedly. "Hello, I'm sorry… I don't believe we've—"

"Shiro, Shiro," Hunk whispered in his ear. Shiro immediately paused and glanced at the other. "Uhm… n-no one s-said anything a-a-about a girl j-j-joining us."

Pidge exchanged a glance in Allura's direction and a small smirk was reflected.

Immediately, Pidge turned up her girl-o-meter to try and make both Hunk and Shiro as awkwardly embarrassed as possible. If Shiro and Hunk can't recognize her, it was highly likely that neither Lance nor Keith would recognize her. She took several steps closer to Shiro and smiled politely, her voice higher in octave than normal while maintaining the lilting tone she was going for, something she practiced with Allura on the way over here. "Oh! I'm so terribly sorry!" She clasped her hands behind her back and bowed slightly forward, "It's such a pleasure to meet you both. Allura has told me all about you both!"

Hunk couldn't believe his eyes, blinking repeatedly and turning progressively more red with each passing second before deciding to hide behind Shiro, who continued to remain befuddled and glanced to Allura quizzically. He returned his gaze to Pidge and sighed.

Pidge had to admit, the dim lighting of the streets and the music that reverberated from within the nightclub made it easier to hide her identity. Still, her friends were smart… they weren't stupid and she wanted to give them a moment to realize what and who it was they were looking at.

Allura smiled, eyes glinting humorously, "Shiro, Hunk… honestly."

Shiro returned his glance to her just as she took steps around the pair of them, her dress floating up around her at the fluid movements. "Oh, look at them… aren't you both so cute!"

"Cu-Cu-?!" Hunk couldn't process while Shiro squinted before lifting a brow. Allura took a step closer to him, standing beside him, and placed a hand on his arm.

Shiro didn't say anything, but unless the lights were playing tricks on her, it looked like Shiro was flustered with a blush dusting his cheeks. He cleared his throat with a curled hand in front of his mouth, "Okay, alright, you're quite the actress, Pidge…"

"P-P-P-P-Pidge?!" Hunk stammered, gawking between Shiro and a cutesy Pidge in quick rapid succession.

"Oh, I think you're mistaken, stranger."

"N-N-N-No way is that-?! Sh-Sh-She can't b-b-be-?!"

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck, giving Allura a narrowed look. He murmured something in her ear with the bow of his head, lowered close, and she shook her head despite the surprise evident on her visage. Both brows lifted and his hand covered his eyes. He removed them seconds later and said, "Pidge," he crossed his arms with a glint of amusement, "your boots give it away."

Hunk jumped in front of Shiro and Allura and in front of where Pidge stood. Her eyes lifted in mischief. It looked like the jig was up and she shrugged. Leave it to Shiro to be observant of every detail. "I can't fool you, huh Shiro?"

Hunk continued to switch between Shiro and Pidge, "H-How…?" He gulped and finally settled his gaze on Pidge. "Y-You… ah... look g-good. Whoa, is it hot out here or—" He tugged on his golden yellow dress shirt collar.

Shiro shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe… Allura… you did an amazing job making Pidge look… well, you look really nice Pidge." He smiled. "I can't believe I didn't recognize you at first." He sounded as if he was almost disappointed in himself. "Too bad Matt missed out on seeing his younger sister looking like this."

"Not just Matt, wait until Lance sees her!" Hunk seemed to have found his voice again.

She lifted a trimmed brow and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm still going to see if I can fool them Hunk, at least just for a few minutes." She smirked. She knew that Lance would be easy but the problem was Keith. Compared to everyone else in the group, she understood him the least. He joined their circle, later on, the last addition at the insistence of both Shiro and Allura. (Even Matt due to his frequent visits to Shiro's apartment.) Knowing next to nothing about him aside from what she's heard from rumors, what she's heard from Lance, and what she's gathered in conversations with her brother and Shiro, which wasn't much. She learned quickly over time that he was extremely reliable in a pinch and always maintained a cool head… generally. There were a few questionable buttons she had found over time that she was wary on pressing, wondering if they were the kind of buttons to push… if they're the right kind of ammo to use in case of an argument. As much as she didn't like to admit that she didn't argue with the red leather jacket wearing emo male, she argued with him enough on a near frequent basis that came from absolutely nothing whenever they saw one another. It was a consistent problem in their relationship and she surmised it had to do with how Keith never opened up to anyone aside from Shiro and Allura.

Now, they'll see how he'll fare with a whole different kind of Pidge.

Hunk groaned, "Why do I have a bad feeling about this…"

Shiro sighed, "If that's what you want to do with your night, go ahead but please don't go too far, alright?" He glanced around them. "And I think we've left Lance and Keith alone long enough. Shall we get going?"

"Yes, let's," Allura nodded in agreement. She headed off in the direction of the club with Hunk trailing after. Shiro remained behind to trail after Pidge.

Out of earshot of everyone else, Shiro spoke up just loud enough, "Please be careful tonight. Matt isn't here and while you are with us, it's not guaranteed you wouldn't get separated from us."

"You worry too much Shiro," she said softly. Her eyes remained glued to the building that grew bigger the closer she came near. "But… thank you for worrying. I'll be fine." Pidge glanced toward the other person she looked up to like a brother, "Honest. I can handle myself."

Shiro's eyes glinted with understanding and concern but didn't get a chance to say anything more as their approach toward the group was when Keith scowled at something Lance said. On cue, Lance roared, "Alright, fuck you Keith; you're on. We're going to see which of us can drink more."

Hunk slapped a hand to his forehead while Shiro and Allura exchanged a glance when they've approached where they were standing just shy of the entrance. Per Pidge's observation, the stoic bouncer looked on at the guests in line and had ignored Lance's declaration. Her eyes flitted back to Keith, where she could see one of his twitching in irritation. Not even in the club and they were already causing trouble. This night will go fantastically.

"Of course, I'll win." Confidence radiated off his form, his arms crossed across his chest. Both Lance and Keith wore similar styles of dress shirts: Lance, a deep oceanic blue and Keith, a vibrant and warm red that seemed to become darker in certain angles of the lighting that Pidge knew didn't come from the shadows. Unlike Lance who wore the dress shirt properly with the sleeves down his arms and white skinny jeans with a matching white skinny tie, Keith opted for black skinny jeans with his own matching black skinny tie and a matter silk vest with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up his forearms. (Even now, he didn't forgo his stupid leather fingerless gloves.) At this point, Keith narrowed his gaze at Lance with a smirk, "You're going to regret challenging me to a drinking contest."

And before anyone else could stop them, they quickly ran inside to begin their contest of stubborn pride and failure to back down from a challenge.

Well, so much for showing off her makeover with the other two friends in the group.

Allura fell into step beside her as they were checked into the club with a quick stamp on her inner right wrist. "Sorry, I guess I forget to consider how Keith and Lance are competitive." She shook her head. "But let's do our best to have fun, shall we?"

Pidge nodded, "Of course! We can't let them have all the fun." The smallest one in the group was finally eager to get this party started. Rubbing her hands together, she felt the vibrations of the music reverberate throughout her body as the large doors swung open to let them in. She let it wash over her, soak it in, and held onto Allura's hand to be guided through the crowded dancers. Soon, they were at their reserved table with a drink on the house. Even in the darkness and flashing lights that moved in tandem to the electronic house songs, no one seemed to make out the other that no one realized that the pretty girl standing next to Allura was indeed Pidge.

Keith, under the assumption that Pidge hadn't shown up, only saw her through the brief flashes of lights overhead. At that moment, he had thought she was someone else altogether.

They all lifted their glasses that were filled with their first shots and clinked glasses, celebrating the birthday of Allura. In an instant, control quickly fell away from their fingertips as Keith and Lance began to challenge one another for one drink… two drinks… three. With the alcohol running through their systems, soon, almost everyone joined in on the drinking competition. At one point, Lance challenged Pidge, assuming her to be a girl who happened to be close by and gave her a glass. He thought he was treating her and she smirked, thanking him for the drink and downed it first before Lance could even prepare.

Pidge began to lose track of how many drinks she had (she knew somewhere in the back of her head that it was bad to do so). When everyone wanted a break from the shots, everyone dispersed respectively to their desired locations. Allura had a glint in her eye as she tugged Shiro with her to the dance floor and Lance wanted to see if he could hit on another girl somewhere in the club to hopefully get lucky tonight since it had seemingly failed with Pidge. Hunk disappeared a little while ago to go find something to satisfy his cravings for snacks and in that, leaving only Keith and Pidge.

Sliding into the empty seat beside her, he shouted over the loud pounding music, "You wanna dance?" His voice was barely loud enough to be overheard over the blaring music.

He still hasn't recognized that she was Pidge since he had yet to refer her by name. At least, she was under the impression he hadn't figured her out yet. She grinned, leaning close so he could hear her, "Sure!" Because why the hell not?

The night passed in a blur when she entered the dance floor. There was jumping, the smell of mingling cologne and perfumes, and the familiar feeling of other people's body heat. Pidge was enjoying the sensations of letting the bass of the electronic dance music roll all over her that she could feel her heart beat in time with it. At first, she was separated off from Keith and was dancing alone without caring who was near her or not in the middle of a bunch of other girls. Flashes of light roved overhead and the melding of bodies coiled around her that she almost missed the feeling of Keith wrapping his arms around her waist, presumably as drunk as she was when he tugged her close and pressed her against his chest. She could feel his breath ghost over the skin of her neck and she let out a laugh that was barely audible on the dance floor. It was if everything was in fast forward, music kept playing and she kept dancing on the dance floor.

Until she was pressed against the cool wall.

Oh? Weren't they on the dance floor anymore?

She gave another laugh, vaguely recalling her voice speaking for her, "What's up?"

His mouth moved and she couldn't remember what he said, but even in her alcohol ridden haze, it looked like it had been something of a question. She reached up to his cheek, fingers pressed against the back of his neck and answered his inquiry with the press of her lips against his by pulling him close to her. He tasted sweet, like whatever alcohol they had been drinking and he pressed her against the wall with even more vigor. Absentmindedly, she was thinking that she was smearing makeup all over his face with the glitter, but was instead, pushed up against the wall while his mouth was wiping her mind blank.

Hands skimmed, gripped over her sides and the other ran to her thigh when he hoisted her up further the wall. And then his mouth was on her neck and she wanted nothing more than to strip out of her clothes, everything feeling too hot and restricting.

"Air," she gasped, unaware she was already breathing when he sucked on her neck.

"Keith!" someone called out that he groaned against her neck, the vibrations of his voice tickling her that she bit her lower lip to stop from laughing. She hid in front of his much larger frame, peeking her head over slightly to see Hunk approaching. "Oh man, you look… you should head home…But, uh, I was just wondering if you've seen Lance."

"No, I haven't. Not since he lost the drinking match."

"Oh…" There was a pause when Pidge ducked back to hide in Keith's chest. "Oh ho, find yourself a female friend?"

"Hunk," Keith all but growled.

The friend raised his hands up in surrender. "Alright man, you do you, but you should head home if you're gonna do that sort of thing here."

Pidge giggled again for the umpteenth time, and somewhere in the back of her mind said that she really stop "giggling." She wanted to get her head geared on straight but found herself fighting against what felt actually quite good.

"Got it."

"Be safe heading home; see you tomorrow." Hunk waved him off and headed off to look for Lance.

Keith turned and pressed a lingering kiss against her neck, eliciting a sigh. He gave a small smile, "Come on, let's go."

A silent nod of agreement and there was a genuine pause of time that flew that Pidge could not recollect, no matter how hard she tried.

All she remembered was being slammed onto his bed in the dark and his hands exploring every inch of her. A slick move of his hands had her unzipped before she could even cry his name. Instead, a strangled moan tore from her throat when his lips pressed on her shoulder blade. His hands slinked around to her chest and the other to a part of her that was rapidly building with need. Her hair came undone when he pressed her into the mattress, his hands no longer covered with the gloves and instead setting every part of her to a heightened awareness of his calloused hands. Skin on skin and the sounds of their kisses and passionate breathless cries was the only thing heard in the room…

Or at least, that was what she thought she recalled.

Pidge woke up alone and with a dull pounding headache. Sitting up, she blinked blearily at the unfamiliar surroundings. A bedroom she's never been in with black solid colored blankets and grey striped bedsheets. A bare minimal metal bed-frame with a desk in the corner with a sleek computer desktop that looked similar to the one that she helped Shiro and Matt build. Bookshelves covered almost every other part of the room, filled with books, comics, and weapon displays of swords from various time periods. In a corner was a large bin with a lid overlaid on top and a sliding closet at the foot of the bed with a door on one side that led to the bathroom and what looked to be a hallway.

Taking a slow, but an even breath, she tried to focus her thoughts, not remembering much from what happened last night. It was foggy, and all she could remember was drinking… a lot and how Matt—

Matt!

She groped her legs where her phone would have been attached to find they weren't there. Frowning, she flung the blankets off to see that her wallet, her cash, and her phone were gone. Taking another glance around the room, she breathed a sigh of relief when she found that her stuff was still here, just on the nightstand. Grabbing her phone, she was relieved to see that her phone still had battery charge, thankful that she hadn't used too much of its battery last night. But, it was near dead at 23%. Strange, the battery was fully charged when she headed to the club…

Unlocking the screen, she gulped down her immediate panic at seeing the many missed phone calls and text messages from Allura, Shiro, and Matt. Scattered in there, she did see a few texts and missed calls from Lance and Hunk. But that wasn't what caught her attention.

It was the one and only picked up call from Keith that froze her.

Oh, for fuck's sake.

She groaned softly, her hand covering her face in disbelief. What the hell did she do? What did she say to—

Wait.

Her eyes darted around the room on higher alert, trying to ignore a headache that she knew was going to get worse. The memories came slowly, but unfortunately, the only thing she could remember was dancing with Keith and the…

She shook her head.

No way. No friggin way.

Pidge took a second glance down her form, noting that she was still dressed and she still had her panties on. She squinted, not quite remembering too much of last night.

Sliding out of bed, she padded across the carpeted floor to the bathroom that had very bare minimum items on the counter. A toothbrush in a cup and a tube of minty fresh toothpaste. Just like the bedroom, the curtain was a single solid color of red with white striped red towels hanging off of the towel rack. Looking herself in the mirror, she slapped a hand to her mouth to hide the gasp at all the love bites that decorated her neck and shoulders. While her dress wasn't entirely undone, the neck piece was and it gave whoever…

And then she remembered Keith, his stupidly handsome face looming in her mind when she had kissed him at the nightclub. He looked surprised, but his eyes narrowed and she remembered finding herself excited at seeing her glitter marking one side of his face. Especially at the kisses that followed right after that only left her wanting more.

She swore silently under her breath and covered her burning face. What kind of alcohol gave her that kind of courage?!

But at least that answered the question of which apartment she was in now; she was at Keith's. Braving another look in the mirror in spite of the fact she could feel her face still burning, she refreshed herself quickly and left. She peeked out into the living room, where she recognized Keith's sleeping form draped across the couch. Pidge gave another small breath of relief. Nothing had happened last night.

She tried sneaking across the living room to the door. About to slip on her shoes, she froze when she heard, "Pidge."

Turning in her spot, she straightened to face Keith, who was now seated upright in a faded red t-shirt and black sleeping pants. He stood up and moved the blankets aside. "Leaving so soon?"

She looked away and sighed. "When did you figure out who I was?"

There was a pause, but he answered, "Right when we snuck away for…"

Pidge returned her gaze to Keith, who had his back facing her, but she could see his ears red while he was folding the blankets. In turn, she could feel her embarrassment burn. Oh… he figured her out right when they were kissing each other's face off. Great. Please let the ground swallow her whole.

He cleared his throat and hesitantly turned back to face her, "Anyway, I was only going to ask how you were feeling and how much you remember from last night."

The pads of her fingers stroked the edges of her phone, lifting one backside of her skirt toward the wall up to slide the phone in the proper place. She'll call Matt and the others in a bit, but right now, she wanted to see if anything had happened last night. It almost sounded like he remembered.

Taking a few steps back into the living room, she sighed and crossed her arms, "I don't remember much after the club. How about you?"

It was this moment that she noted that Keith wasn't about to lie and was not the type of person to lie straight to a person's face. Especially not when they were "friends."

He gave her a steady look, "Truthfully, I don't remember much save getting into the apartment." His dark eyes shifted away back to the bottles of liquor that were sitting on the coffee table. Oh dear lord, did they drink more when they got here?! "There are only a few cups taken from one bottle and the other one is untouched. I don't think we drank anymore after we got back here."

Pidge released a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Oh, that's good. So… you don't remember anything either…"

Keith rubbed his neck, diverting his gaze. "No."

Walking back into the living room, she sat down on the couch and he followed suit. "So… we'll just say nothing happened and we don't tell our friends, right?"

"Right," he repeated.

There was a long pause that followed after.

Now what?


	2. Key to Truth and Lies

Summary:  
It's the morning after and then some. Honestly, what'd they expect would happen?

Notes:  
I had no one beta read this so I hope it's alright to read. -sweats- Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2: Key to a truth and lies.

Lies. He was a fucking liar and he couldn't believe he said that. He realized it was Pidge after the third shot, right around when Lance had given her a drink. He recognized that half-smirk-half grin she made every time she found something amusing. Of course, Lance would never figure out that the dressed up girl who was at the table was friggin Pidge.

But then, his mouth had to go and spout out a lie that he realized it was Pidge when they were making out. Why he lied, he had no idea. Granted, he wasn't entirely himself, but to let his hormones, that he thought was no longer so strong since he wasn't a teenager anymore, do whatever it wanted was troublesome.

It honestly didn't help that she was turned gorgeous, as if by some kind of magic. He really had to hand it to Allura to make such an astounding transformation. So much so that he had apparently brought her to his apartment (even though, he _clearly_ knew who she was) without any idea of what the hell happened last night. Fantastic. And now, he couldn't get the images out of his head of what he wanted to do with the still very pretty Pidge that sat next to him. He blamed the lack of recent company, time for himself, and the way she literally changed his mind in one night. Especially when he could still see all the love bites he had left on her neck and inwardly cursed at how arousing he found that to be. Stupid hormones.

Pidge fiddled with the hem of her dress. "So… You honestly don't remember anything?"

Keith shook his head, his right arm resting on the neat pile of pillows that sat to the right of him. His hand stroked his chin, "I swear I don't, Pidge. I wouldn't just lie to you about something… that… may or may not have happened."

She could feel her neck creeping with shame and embarrassment. If nothing had happened, it was good, right? And yet, the sinking feeling sat heavily in her stomach. Did that mean he wouldn't have done what he did with her? Was she not a fitting match for Keith? Something about that caused angry heat to curl in her chest, resisting the urge to snap out in her assumption since this moment was important. Her hands gripped her dress.

"Would you have?" She still found herself asking and she cursed herself for the need to have her questions answered. (It's the inner logic in her; it had to be.)

It was as if the room had its air sucked out. He didn't answer right away as she hoped he would since it would have made this easier for her, but instead, he had to go and make this more complicated than it needed to be.

He wanted to say that he wanted to. He wanted to say that he had never thought of her that way until last night and he wanted to say that after seeing her last night, he wanted nothing more than to take her somewhere else instead of the nightclub with how beautiful she looked. He thought she deserved more than being in a nightclub, where the lights would hide all of Allura's hard work at making her so dazzling.

Instead, he responded with, "I… Pidge, you're my friend. I can't take advantage of you like that."

Pidge wanted to throw something. She couldn't handle the humiliation of what could have and what's more, she couldn't believe his immediate default of deflecting instead of answering with his honest opinion. He went safe, he went expected, and he went and friend zoned her. Especially since she _clearly_ remembered him kissing her back last night.

"Oh good, I wouldn't have done it with you either." She didn't sound relieved, no, in fact, she sounded irritated and she let it show. She stood up and headed to the door.

"Pidge—"

"No, Keith, you've made your stance quite clear." One foot in her shoe and the next followed quickly after. She reached for the doorknob only for it to slam shut the moment she opened it. Flashing eyes shot to him, cursing him and his stupid tallness. " _What_ , Keith?" she snapped.

"Look, that didn't come out right. Come on, Pidge, you have to understand… we're friends and—"

"What, that I'm not hot enough for you?"

For fuck's sake, she was and he hated that she was pissing him off. He resisted the urge to run his hands through his hair in frustration. "Jeezus, I'm not answering your question and you know why I can't answer that, Pidge." He wouldn't realize the severity of that thought until months from now.

The small girl couldn't tell if he was ridiculing her or mocking her. With Keith, she could never tell. Though there was a small part of her that knew she was being completely unreasonable compared to her usual self, where she had prided herself on using logic first and foremost over the confusing aspects of what emotions usually did to one's thinking process. Still, it didn't ease her mind any of the anger she felt that it was likely that he didn't think that highly of her. She knew why he couldn't answer because they were friends, and crossing that boundary line that every friendship had was always a dangerous line to cross. But whether it had been the idea of friends with benefits or even a relationship had gone down the drain.

"Keith, I will ask again," she seethed, no longer caring if she was being unreasonable or not. "I asked you would you have had sex with me whether or not we're friends. I want to know what you truly think. Even if we weren't both hammered, would you have? Do you find me attractive enough to do so?" A part of it was some indignation that she asked, another was that she had come here thinking it would happen. After all, _she_ kissed _him_ last night.

He clenched his jaw. He didn't answer for a good minute, his own gaze meeting hers. She didn't see him clench his hands. "No, Pidge, I wouldn't have."

That was an answer as good as she'll get. She turned to face the door, trying to pull it open, but still found it tightly closed by the press of his hand against it. "Let me leave."

"Pidge." His voice was low, dangerously low, and she could feel his mounting anger grow. But so was hers. "We need to talk about this instead of arguing."

Stubbornness was a trait that they both shared, both steadfast and determined to go their way that it made it almost impossible to change their minds once they've set it. One of them had to give, but whoever one it was needed to be persuaded first. (Or burned…)

Pidge snapped her head to him and then her eyes slowly cast downward, "We're friends, Keith, I get that." She did. Honestly, she liked the fact that Keith was doing the right thing and was staying his ground on keeping their boundaries set when they were both just friends. She had no feelings for him and it was highly likely that he didn't either. But what she wanted right now wasn't the friendship that they both had cultivated, no, but rather the hope and possibility that it could be something if they wanted to. If _she_ wanted to. And she didn't know until just now what she wanted was that possibility that she could be seen in Keith's eyes as someone more than just a friend. That she, the outcast girl genius Katie Holt, could become something with the popular handsome aspiring pilot and astronaut, Keith Kogane. That even a small, awkward, and work focused girl could get the guy if she wanted to. However, it was made evident that no matter how close she would be someone, especially by someone like Keith, there was no chance for her. Maybe if she was as pretty as Allura… but as quickly as the thought surfaced, it sank nanoseconds later.

The fire in her to argue died and she sighed. "So just let me leave because don't worry, I won't be telling anyone that I stayed the night here." Being rejected without realizing she wanted something like a relationship was enough of a personal discovery for one day.

Keith didn't speak for a moment, her deflation in the argument bothering him more than he had expected it to. He knew the reasons why they weren't going to tell their friends, but… was it really necessary when they were friends and he had been merely looking out for her?

"Are we okay then?" he asked, his voice softening that she wished he was mean, that she wished he wouldn't be so shockingly kind at the last second.

She sighed again. Releasing the door handle, she turned to face him with her one hand grasping her other arm's elbow. Eyes lifted to meet his. "Yeah, we're okay. Sorry for springing a question like that on you." She managed a smile.

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking briefly away, "It's okay." He didn't blame her. After all, it was a defining question that would have changed their entire relationship.

Pidge felt her phone vibrating. "Okay, I should go. I think my brother is calling me again for the twentieth time since this morning."

He gave a nod. "Right." Pulling his arm away from the door, he then asked, "Oh, do you need a ride home? I don't know how well you know this area."

A blink. Oh, right, she's never been to his apartment before so the area would be a little weird. And then asking anyone to come get her would only bring more questions that she wasn't sure if she wanted to answer without revisiting the previous conversation. "Yeah, sure."

"Gimme a minute to get ready and I'll drive you home." He started to head off toward his bedroom before turning back to her, "Don't go anywhere." And then disappeared into his bedroom.

Pidge chuckled, surprised by his immaturity at worrying that she would leave after accepting a ride. She pulled out her phone and leaned against the door to answer the many worried texts and phone calls. But, she sent one specifically to Allura, asking to meet up with her at their usual coffee place before they head home. Thinking on it, she wasn't sure if she was going to tell her about what had happened last night. She bit her lower lip. If she told Allura, she'd most likely tell Shiro and then Shiro would tell Matt. It would begin the hellfire of questions and concern that had no basis. But the only problem with this was that Allura was her best friend. No, she'll tell her. Otherwise, she wasn't sure how she would understand her feelings without talking it aloud.

She lifted her phone, pressing the edge of it to her forehead and closed her eyes. "It'll be okay," she murmured. Somewhere inside of her, she realized she now had to deal with the heartache she didn't expect. After all, she had been flat out rejected before they even began.

By the minute that Keith was ready, she was herself again. What she failed to notice was his lingering and regret filled expression that flickered across his visage.

* * *

"Pidge!"

Her gaze lifted from the coffee she held to the worried expression of Allura that came to give her a hug outside of their coffee shop. She barely even had the chance to stand up when her arms wrapped themselves around her.

"Oh, I've been so worried, Pidge! Where have you been?" she asked upon pulling apart. "Why are you here? How did you get here? Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, Allura, don't worry." She held out the other cup that was filled with tea. "Here, take this and let's go home. I'll tell you all about it."

Her best friend gave her a long look before taking the offered beverage. Soon, they were home and Pidge had washed up, cleaned off all of that makeup and was now dressed in her favorite sweater and shorts. She stared at the garment and accessories that rested on her bed, remembering that she had a flower hairclip in her hair before. Did she lose it somewhere? Unable to recall where it had fallen, she decided to forget about it and dropped her clothes into the hamper, where it will be washed and then stored in her closet for all eternity, never to be worn again.

After taking some medicine that had finally kicked away a pounding headache, she was nursing a cup of water that she needed to rehydrate herself. They sat in their living room on their couch with the television on as background noise. She called Matt once she was home, letting him know she was home safe and had crashed at home after getting a ride. When the lie came out, she winced, unable to believe she had to lie to her brother for the first time simply because she didn't want him to be disappointed in her. She was already regretting not telling him the truth and she could already feel the guilt eating away at her chest.

"Now spill."

Distracted hazel eyes lifted to Allura, who sat across from her in the armchair and determined eyes to get information from her one way or another. Pidge sighed, leaning forward to adjust herself with her drink and her knees lifted to her chest. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Okay, let's start off first where did you go last night after we separated?" Allura crossed her arms.

"Well, after you and Shiro left for the dance floor, it was just me and Keith left. He asked me to dance and I said yes." Taking a few sips of water, she watched over the lip of the cup Allura's eyes widening.

"I'm sorry, but you did _what_?"

"I said yes to dancing with Keith, as terrible as my dancing is," another sip. "It wasn't too bad." She shrugged and couldn't stop the blush creeping up her neck at the remembrance of his arms around her waist.

Allura frowned instead of squealing like Pidge thought she would have. Looking thoughtful while bearing concern, "But you could've joined me and Shiro at any time."

Pidge snorted with the roll of her eyes, "And what, get between you two? I think not."

This time, she watched her friend blush, appearing quite flustered. "I-I-I will have you know that there is nothing happening between Shiro and me!"

"Uh huh." Not believing in a single word she said, Pidge took another few sips of her drink.

She curled up on the armchair, crossing her arms with a huff, "In any case, what happened after that?"

Eyes were cast down to the cup, knowing full well what an earful she was going to get, but instead, she started off with, "You promise you won't tell anyone, Allura?"

Her brow lifted, apprehensive, but nodded, "Of course; I shan't tell a soul." She readjusted to lean forward. "What happened, Pidge? Where did you go? You didn't answer any of our calls."

Except Keith's, she thought, wondering idly what was the conversation she had with him that the phone call lasted a good ten minutes and twenty-three seconds according to the phone log.

"I don't remember… at least, I remember bits of it, but I don't remember most of it. I just know I woke up in Keith's apartment." Her voice was soft, reflecting over the exchange in words she had with the other. Rejected before she even realized that she had a fascination and admiration for him that she wished would have had the chance to grow and be nurtured into something perhaps more.

It was possible with the somber tone that it was why Allura didn't rain hell like she thought she would. Instead, her voice only grew more worried. "Oh, Pidge… Does… Does Keith remember anything? And why do I get the feeling that there's more to this..." She didn't sound mad at Keith and Pidge noted to ask her why she wasn't later.

She tugged up the top of her sweater, hiding her neck with her hair further from view so Allura wouldn't see the many love bites he left to remember him by. "He doesn't either. I guess he was just as gone as I was last night. I don't know how we got to his apartment safely without destroying anything, but we were safe." Silently, Pidge vowed that she'd never drink that much again. Her eyes lifted to Allura, her face set in determination, "Allura, you promise you won't tell anyone about this, right? You promise?"

Allura nodded, moving from her seat to sitting beside her. "Yes, I promise, Pidge." She took her hand and squeezed.

She set down her cup on the coffee table and stared blankly at it. Resting her chin on her knees, she began with a deep breath. "Well, this morning when I was trying to sneak out, Keith caught me leaving. We said that we wouldn't tell anyone what happened last night because it sounded like the right thing to do at the time, even though we don't remember anything. We guessed that nothing happened since I was still in my clothes and he was dressed in his own. And I wasn't sore or anything so… I don't think _that_ happened either." Come to think of it, he was dressed in his own sleeping wear. Was he soberer than he let on? Did he remember more than he was letting on? No… they were being honest with one another.

She hoped.

"But…?" Allura gently prodded.

"I asked him if he would have done… you know, that thing, with me. I mean, Keith was being nice and said the right thing in that situation, but… I don't know. I think I realized in that instant when he flat out said that he wouldn't have done that sort of thing with me, regardless whether we were friends or not, that he never saw me more than just a friend. I'm… I was rejected without realizing I liked him, Allura."

Allura was quiet for a long time until she finally squeezed her hand again. At that moment, Allura had respect for Keith to try and keep their friendship. But she knew that he had also established a wall that would not be broken down ever again by Pidge. It made any possibility of a relationship ever forming disappear. "I'm sorry, Pidge. He sees you as a friend and that's better than nothing at all. He really respects you to try and maintain that friendship."

Pidge gave a small nod. Better than nothing, maybe, and she wondered if that was true at all. "But at that moment when I asked, I wanted him to honestly tell me if I ever had a chance. I guess I never had any."

"Oh, Pidge." She released her hand to hug the smaller, pulling her to her chest.

Feeling enveloped by the embrace of someone who now knew her feelings and her thoughts, albeit however small they were for a certain guy, finally made her cry. She cried for what felt to be a very long time.

The rest of the day passed quickly, under a movie marathon that Allura suggested and she decided to come clean with her feelings for Shiro, something she had been "hiding" for a long time now.

"You know, you're really obvious so I already knew," Pidge had said with a smirk after their second movie and on the way of putting in a third. Allura wasn't obvious, but there were the little things that changed her behavior in the time she had met Shiro. She didn't point it out simply because she wanted to see how long the feelings would remain. Only, it seemed to grow stronger with each week that passed. "It's cute though."

Allura couldn't find words to speak when she decided to throw a pillow instead. This started a small fight where they both ended up on the couch in a fit of giggles, only to watch the next movie that Pidge had inserted into the game console. Thanks to Allura's constant companionship, Pidge began the slow healing process of moving on. Just before they were going to bed, when she was alone once more did she look at the group picture that sat on her desk. Lifting it from its place, she smiled fondly at the memory that came flooding in then.

It was at an amusement park and they had decided to go on one of the rides that had ended up making them drenched. Thankfully, it had been a hot day so cooling off with the splash of water had been refreshing. The picture was taken just after the ride so they looked wet, but giddy on emotions. Allura suggested the picture and asked someone nearby to take the picture for them. They were huddled together, wet and cold and she stood in the middle with Allura crouched beside her. Shiro stood off behind her with Keith under his arm with matching laughing grins. Hunk and Lance had the similar pose, only Hunk still looked like he was a little sick, trying to bear it for the picture and Lance laughing at something that Hunk had said.

Her eyes fell on Keith, one of his rare smiles immortalized in the picture on her desk and she cursed her heart from leaping at the thought of how she had one of his rare smiles in her room. Of how she got to know Keith and how kind he actually was in spite of his all too serious expressions. Idly, the question of if she truly did love Keith was one she would never get to answer. After all, it was simply just a crush she didn't even know she had.

He had kissed her back last night. It was her first, clumsy when she remembered her teeth near slammed into his that he had to ease her into it. His hand had cupped her cheek, long fingers tangling in her hair and grazing her neck. It had tasted of alcohol… sweet… and with the heat, she didn't know she had wanted. He was gentle at first, teaching her before he only began to consume what she offered without restraint.

With a sigh and the shake of her head, she set the picture down and decided that there would be nothing more to think about. Keith had set the lines and maybe, there was nothing more than she liked best than to have Keith as just a friend.

* * *

Several weeks pass and Pidge discovered that by throwing herself into her work, she'd easily forget the heartbreak. It was easy enough considering how time-consuming her assignments were. She had been working on trying to figure out how to rework the programming a robot to do several explicit commands that were targeted toward one of the most difficult things in the human body: the hand. So consumed by the project, she had begun to ease out of the affection she held. In doing so, she often missed that whenever she walked by some parts of the campus, he'd be there, stopping in his tracks and watch her.

She had missed that his gaze always followed her without meaning to, whether he or she realized that he did it was unlikely.

"Allura, I'm so tired, that I think when I'm done with this, I'm going to sleep for forever."

It's been officially six weeks or so since she had officially seen Keith or anyone else for that matter. Well, alright, everyone else aside from Allura and her brother — both of whom she saw on a near regular basis — had seen them frequently enough, but it was never enough time for her to really just talk to only Keith. Which was good since it meant she didn't have time to dwell on something that she wanted to put behind her. Now, she was sore with no idea why, was overworked, and more short-tempered than she ever remembered herself being. It was amazing Allura still put up with her.

"I can see that… but you've hit a roadblock, haven't you?" She scribbled something into her notebook before rapidly typing away at the laptop to her left. Blue eyes turned to Pidge, lifting a brow, "Your project isn't due for another few weeks and I'd like to say that you've done more than you need to, Pidge. In fact, I'd say that you've long since have taken it to the extra—"

Pidge uttered a loud groan and rested her head on her arms on the table, interrupting Allura mid-sentence. Allura sighed, resting her chin in the palm of her hand and her elbow on the surface to face her smaller friend.

"You need to go home and sleep since you've finished everything. You know next week is when your club meetings pick up again so you should enjoy this time to yourself before it gets even busier." Allura poked her friend on the cheek. "No longer wearing those faux glasses of yours?"

Rubbing her face as she straightened in her seat, "Maybe I should. I think I'll head home to my parents this weekend. Matt said he's heading down to visit for the holiday weekend though." Pidge made a face. "And the frame cracked."

"Yes, perhaps you should go with him." Allura lifted a brow and said nothing, knowing full well she'd get a new frame in no time.

"Uh huh," Pidge lifted a brow, smirking. "What about you? You're gonna stay in hopes of seeing—"

"Pidge!" She slapped her friend's mouth shut quickly. "C-Can you please?!"

She pulled away from the guarding hands and snickered. "Don't worry, Allura, he isn't even here. But, when are you going to ask him out? Like, really ask him out? You've been seeing him and hoping for the relationship to go to the next level since you met him."

Allura slammed the laptop shut with a stern and raised a brow, "Pidge, I appreciate you and I really care for you, but you already know how he is. I can't just ask him to go out with me, just like that."

It was Pidge's turn to lift a brow, "Oh? Really?"

Allura squinted. "Don't you dare do anything, Pidge. We're doing just fine without your help, alright?" Putting away her belongings, she slung the bag over her shoulder and said, "Pidge, I'm being serious. Please, I beg of you, don't do anything."

Pidge lifted her hands up in surrender. "Alright, I won't." She crossed her arms and leaned back into her seat. "So then you'd better let me know when it's official, okay?"

The older smiled, relaxing, "Of course; you'll be the first to know. Now, I've got to go, but take care and I'll see you tonight."

With a nod and a wave, Pidge watched her best friend depart. Left alone, she made another groan, leaning her head back on the headrest with a sigh. Maybe she should just head back to the apartment and sleep off her exhaustion. Maybe that'll get her brain running again and think of another way to tackle the problem. Slinging her own small bag over her shoulder, she headed off toward the parking lot where her bike was locked to the bike rack.

However, upon her approach, she spotted someone garbed in a conspicuous black cutting off the chain of her bike. What the—?!

"Hey, get away from my bike!" she shouted and took off into a run. Today was seriously not her day! The thief was still having trouble getting the chain off that when she was close enough, she threw her bag with startling accuracy at the thief's face and managed to knock him over enough to stumble. However, it was in that instance that he had just snapped off the chain and was already riding away. "Stop him! Someone stop him!" Anyone! She needed that bike!

The thief was riding down the parking lot passed a bunch of other bikes and motorbikes where there was a single person standing nearby. The motorcyclist took off his sporty white and red motorcycle helmet and threw it right into the back of the thief's head. The thief was blindsided to stop, enough time for the other to yank the bike from underneath the thief. They fell to the ground, disgruntled and angered, that when they rose to standing, they looked ready to fight. It was enough time for the rescuer to pick up his fallen helmet and set the bike down.

Finally distracted, Pidge knelt down to pick up her belongings as quickly as she could, glancing every so often up at what was happening. When she finally grabbed her tablet, she slid it into the bag and took off into a run again toward the confrontation. Only, when she got close enough, she saw that it was Keith versus the thief. Why didn't she immediately recognize his white and red leather jacket? "Keith! He stole my bike! Stop him!"

Just wait until she got close enough; she was going to kick that thief's ass.

Keith glanced to Pidge, their eyes connected briefly before he gave a nod and returned his gaze to the adversary in front of him. The thief decided to pick a fight and when they lunged, Keith sidestepped and did another sidestep when they tried to punch again. Come to the third attempt, he swung his leg to kick the thief to the ground in one swift and powerful movement. Taking his stance with his hands up toward his face and his legs spread out, he was prepared for anything that came next and in one more lunge, Keith disabled him with a jarring left swing of his helmet to smack right into the back of the thief's head. He righted himself when Pidge was finally close enough to speak normally.

"Th-Thanks, Keith!" she huffed. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you or anything?"

"No, I'm okay, but we should call campus security," Keith suggested after giving her a nod in greeting.

"Oh, right! Gimme a second." She pulled out her cellphone and dialed. While she was talking on the phone, Keith's gaze remained on her form, thinking how long it had been since he had seen her. Ever since their conversation in the apartment, he had been playing their conversation on repeat without understanding why. He hadn't seen her in weeks outside of the group gatherings and she looked even lovelier than he had remembered.

Her hair was tied up on the side of her head, wearing a v-neck pastel green t-shirt with a black hoodie wrapped around her hips and black leggings with a green stripe going down the side that split to reveal a pattern down the calves of leaves and scattered pink petals. A worn brown leather bag was slung across her frame and a black pair of Converses. It was as if someone was reminding him of how slender she truly looked wearing such form-fitting clothes. He winced, remembering flashes of skin under dim lighting when his eyes lingered on her neck and curled hair teasing the lines of her shoulders and collarbone...

While on the phone, Pidge quickly rehashed the information and details of the event to the campus security, them already saying that they're sending someone over. Within minutes, campus security showed up on a bike and another came just seconds behind him. After conversing and questioning the both of them of the trouble, they scolded them for taking the matters into their own hands and warned them of the dangers of tackling such things by themselves. Still, preaching aside, they had their information should they need to be further questioned.

Picking up the ruins of her bike chain with a swift tug and the shake of her head, she wheeled out the bike with Keith walking beside her. "Thanks again. I guess I was lucky that you were walking by when the thief ran by you."

She heard a chuckle and looked over, "Yeah, another few seconds and I wouldn't have been able to hit him." A small smile tugged at his lips and Pidge had to say with relief that her heart didn't stutter like she thought it would. No, instead, it betrayed her with an ache and she resisted the urge to grasp at her shirt in front of where it hurt. She didn't know which was worse: the fact she still had feelings for him or the fact that she was still nursing a broken heart.

"Is there anything I can do for you in return? You know, for helping me get my bike back." Pidge was wondering in that moment, what in the fresh hell was she doing.

He blinked, returning her gaze, "You don't have to Pidge. I know you're busy with that project of yours."

"Oh, no, it's okay. I've hit a block so it's been frustrating me for the last two and a half days. Allura said I should take a breather and maybe it'll hit me while I'm trying to relax." Part of the way through her explaining, she was glaring at the bike's handlebars and was trying her best not to take her frustrations out on Keith. "Because I know if I program the…" she began to unwittingly ramble, spewing problems that would and should have a variety of solutions. Her hand lifted to her chin in the process, her brows furrowed and concentrated on the problem that consumed her thoughts.

Keith chuckled, Pidge unaware of the amusement twinkling on his eye. It was always amazing to see her ramble about the project she was always so passionate in. Looking up ahead, he placed a hand on her shoulder with a firm grip, stopping her from walking forward across the crosswalk and finally, stirring her from her thoughts. "Careful Pidge, that habit of yours will get you in trouble someday."

She groaned, shaking her head in disbelief. "Oh, sorry Keith. I didn't mean to go off like that."

He gave a light shrug while she sighed. Her eyes flitted from the corner of her eyes to note that he was dressed in black slim jeans, gray fabric belt with a silver buckle, v-neck black t-shirt and his red and white leather jacket and fingerless gloves. Did he truly not wear anything else? But she had to admit, he looked… good, in spite of the simplistic style of dress. And then she couldn't help but remember that night where he wore that dress shirt and vest and just how handsome he looked. He had been clean cut compared to the scuff and slight wear he appeared to look presently.

"Where are you heading?" he asked after a moment.

The light in front switched from the red hand to the white figure giving the okay to cross. Focusing on walking, she blinked blearily and thought of how some sleep would be good. "Probably back home. I haven't slept properly for the last few days…" Pidge knew it was probably more than that and that it was at least a week, at best. But for the last couple of days, she felt more exhausted and not well since… since Matt had come down with a cold and had passed it to her. And that was years ago.

Keith lifted a brow. "Then do you need a ride? I know your apartment is kind of far for a tired person to ride a bike back home."

Oh, riding back would be… She felt tired just thinking about it. Running a hand down her face with a small sigh, she considered all the cross streets and side streets she'd have to ride through before getting home. The probability of her not being aware enough to be hit by a car sounded extremely high. Now on the other side of the street, she alternatively recalled that Keith's apartment was somewhere near here, a lot closer than hers and Allura's. (Knowing Allura, she would have invited Shiro for food and privacy.) She paused where she stood, looking at her surroundings that she walked through so many times before. It was strange to consider that she was now walking this path with Keith instead of Allura as was usual. But did she dare ask? It should be fine though since they were friends… right? Against better judgment, she decided to ask anyway.

"Keith? Is it possible I just chill at your apartment? I mean, maybe some peace and quiet will help me out." The idea of even heading back to the apartment when it's highly likely that Shiro would be coming for a visit was something she would rather not deal with right now.

Surprised, he looked taken aback but took it in stride. He crossed his arms but arched a brow. "Sure, but I have class all day today so I can't be much company for you."

"It's okay; I'll just make myself at home." And nap, she added silently to herself. But her chest ached at the thought of going back to the place where she had her confrontation with Keith, where she was rejected, and where it was the very being of who Keith was; his home. Did she want to become closer to him?

He pulled out his phone and typed quickly. Pidge's phone vibrated moments later, only for her to see one text message that had his address. She shot back a look, mimicking his earlier expression. "How do I get in?"

Putting away his phone, he pulled out from his other pocket his keys. There were two silver keys that matched attached to a keychain of a sword and a few other things she can't see. He unhooked the second and dropped it into her outreached hand. "Make yourself comfortable and lock up after yourself. If you need to leave when you're done, just give me the key later."

Pidge eyed the key warily but decided she was too tired to care about her options. Keith's place was close and she would rather crash somewhere safe than risk the lives of other people. Hitching a ride with someone when she had her bike to take care of was more hassle than she was willing to deal with. Her temper and frustration levels were at an all time high so she had no idea how she would act with other people. It was bearable, for now, with Keith. Her fingers closed around the key, pulling it close and gave a small smile, "Thanks, Keith."

He gave another easy shrug, his brow still arched, "That's what friends are for. And besides, I rather you safe or I'll never hear the end of it from either Shiro or Matt or hell, even Allura." Pidge tried to hide the amusement, but watching him wince at the thought of facing the wrath of her "guardians" was something apparently to be feared and quite funny. So the great Keith Kogane, popular and the fearless boy of Altea University, feared her brother, his adoptive older brother, and Allura. It was quite something.

A lidded smirk appeared without her being able to stop it, "Oh? Afraid Keith?" Pidge taunted.

Keith sighed and gave a pointed look, eyes narrowing minutely while a corner of his lips curled with the quick cross of his arms. "No, I'm just concerned that I'd get my head chewed off."

"Sure, uh huh," Pidge resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead, the smirk grew wider. For added effect, her hand with the key touched to her chin, leaning forward. He took a step back. "It looks like Keith is a good kid after all." She withdrew back to her bike, feeling a yawn coming on.

"Just go. I'll see you later." He ruffled her hair and began to walk back to the campus.

His nonchalant attitude made her want to do something immature as was indicative of the ruffling of her hair, making her feel like he was treating her like a kid. "I'm going to raid your fridge!" she shouted when he was far enough as a retort. Keith just returned a wave without looking back but didn't say anything as she watched him stick his hands into his pocket.

Only when he disappeared from view, Pidge finally glanced at the key sitting on her palm. Just as the wind picked up, there was a part of her that illogically thought that this key would be the figurative key to a future she wasn't sure if she wanted yet.

About fifteen minutes later after precariously finding a place to hide her bike on his apartment's balcony without tracking it inside the apartment, she stood in the living room with her hands on her messenger bag strap. She wanted to sleep. She really wanted to sleep, but sleeping in his bed (again) was out of the question. Closing her eyes, there was a recollection of when she was staying over here a few months ago, he had been sleeping on a pillow with a grey blanket. Padding silently across the plush carpeted floor, she peered into his bedroom. On his desk was a pile of papers and textbooks with neon bright paper sticking out sitting next to a closed matted black laptop. Next to his desk was another bookshelf, filled with reference material for school and more notebooks and binders. (He was surprisingly neat.) There were more textbooks just piled up next to the desk with the same various brightly colored papers protruded from its bindings.

With a sigh, she glanced at the bed and stole one of the pillows to plop on the couch. Skimming through each closet for that familiar grey blanket, she eventually found it stored in a bag in the hall to the bathroom, taking it out and setting it on the couch. Putting her bag down on the couch, she contemplated on changing her clothes and dug through her bag for the spare t-shirt. Still clean from pulling it out of the closet a few mornings ago, she headed to the bathroom to wash up. (It wasn't like she came prepared to sleep at his apartment… she just always carried it with her.) Finished and fresh, she relished the feeling of clean clothes and crawled to the couch under the blankets. Pulling the pillow close near a cuddle, she burrowed herself into the blankets and only had the lingering thought of how it smelled like him before she fell asleep in moments.

Many hours later after several classes, Keith finally headed home. It was when he was about to slide his key into the apartment lock that he realized that Pidge was inside, his missing spare key serving as a reminder. He had forgotten all about her. Without putting the key in, he turned off and headed out to get some food. It was about twenty minutes later did he return, unlocked the door to find his apartment dark instead of lit like he thought it would be, and flicked on the light to see a small head of light brown hair snuggling deeper into the blankets they had wrapped around themselves on his couch.

Did she just sleep when she came in when he gave her his key nearly six hours ago? He could see a small pile of clothes by her bag and felt heat flash across his skin at the thought that he quickly threw out the window before it could coherently form. After dropping off his bag in his room and food on the counter in his kitchen, he changed out of his clothes for a more comfortable pair of pants and proceeded to crouch by the couch where her head was.

"Pidge," he called out quietly. She didn't move. "Pidge." This time, he gently shook where he could see her shoulder.

She stirred, turning in her place to blink slowly awake. Her hair had curled around her face and he had to resist the urge to touch her by rubbing the back of his neck. "Hmm?" She looked tired still, all things considered.

"It's ten, Pidge," he stated.

Groggily, she recalled coming over to sleep and then… "Oh, yeah… is it?" she mumbled, burying her yawn underneath the blankets.

He sighed, but he looked concerned. "Have you eaten at all today, Pidge?"

She knew she could sleep more, but she could not deny that she hadn't eaten all day. "No," she said with the small shake of her head and a modest smile appeared.

"Want to eat?"

She gave a nod.

"Okay, wait here."

Pidge gave another nod. Her eyes followed him rising from his spot to the kitchen, pulling out food from the bag he had been carrying. Sitting up with the blanket still wrapped around her, she grunted when she stretched from sleeping in one position too long. Hazel eyes continued to follow him to the small table in front of the couch where he set down a bowl of steaming noodles with what looked to be chicken and vegetables sprinkled in. Next, he set down a smaller cup where it held what looked to be the broth and then her cup of water.

Keith sat down next to her by moving the blanket with his own similar bowl with a red spicy fragrance. He grabbed the remote from underneath the table to turn on the television and changed the channel to the news. "I brought dinner. It's a noodle shop that just opened down the street from the school campus. I went with their classic; safe since I don't know what's your preferred meal."

Truthfully, Pidge wasn't picky, but the fact he was so thoughtful in selecting what kind of meal to eat was… touching. "No, it looks good Keith, thanks." She adjusted the blankets so it would cover her legs while the blanket dropped from her shoulders to her waist. Tugging a hair tie from her wrist, she pulled her long hair into a ponytail.

He gave another one of those small smiles and handed her the chopsticks. After pouring the broth, they both settled on watching a movie that Keith had in his collection. It was an animation marvel that tugged at the heartstrings of an older robot and a sleek modern one. When they were done, Keith was kind enough to clean up and returned moments later to settle down on the couch. Tugging her hair free from the ponytail, she rested comfortably against the pillow next to her. She felt better now that there was food in her system and fell asleep near an hour later.

When she woke up the next morning, she found her phone charged on the nightstand next to her and sleeping in Keith's bed.


	3. When It's Too Late

**Summary** :

Pidge had come to the painful realization that her crush was at an end in spite of the surfacing memories that came from that night. What was worse was that Keith was also remembering and it spurred something inside of him to become something more.

 **Notes** :

It got a little long and I think I digressed a bit, but I hope it's good either way. I also tried to include more Keith since you all seemed to like Keith's perspective. Enjoy! Please, I'd love to also hear your two cents so if it's not too much trouble, feel free to drop a comment! They're my main driving force for this fic.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: When It's Too Late**.

Pidge knew her phone would be blowing up by Allura's concern for her well-being. Surprisingly, she saw that there were a few texts of worry (nowhere near as many as she thought originally), mixed with a few phone calls and a voicemail. Listening to the voicemail wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be either. Most of the messages fell in the line of, "I hope you're safe." But, the last most recent text message just had an emoji of a smirk. Then she knew that it was possible that Keith contacted Allura to let her know that Pidge was staying over his place.

She promptly replied to the smiley with a question mark, feigning ignorance. Glancing at her phone again, the time indicated close to ten in the morning and had the tempting idea of going back to sleep since she had nothing scheduled to do. She was feeling better but knew her body could use some more rest. Sliding herself out of Keith's bed, she noticed that a lot of his stacks of books were gone. Lifting a brow, she headed to the bathroom to freshen up. In the living room, she spotted Keith sleeping in the same spot she was sleeping in last night: the couch. In front of him, piles of textbooks and papers filled the place of where they had their noodles. They were once in the bedroom and were currently out in living room. Pidge reasoned he did that so he wouldn't bother her with his studying while she slept.

Staying quiet, she looked for a cup in the cupboards for a drink of water. Thankfully, they were on the lowest shelf. After getting a drink, she paused by the doorway to the bedroom. Setting the cup down, she walked back to the living room and knelt down beside where Keith slept.

"Keith," she whispered, calling him awake.

He must be a light sleeper because he opened one eye and the other followed. "Morning to you too, Pidge…" Yawning, he shifted so that his arms were under the pillow to have a better look.

He was tired, she can tell that much. It was possible he passed out only a few hours ago. "You can have the bed back," she said.

Blearily, he reached over for his phone, reading the time and groaned while his other hand rubbed his face. "It's too early for this… You go back to the bed, Pidge." Shiro taught him polite mannerisms befitting a gentleman and it was ingrained in him like tinkering with a new invention was to Pidge.

"I don't want to take your bed from you." She narrowed her gaze. As comfortable as it was for her to sleep on it, she couldn't do that to Keith when he needed it just as much as she did.

"It's seriously too early for this, Pidge, I don't want to argue." But Keith knew that she was going to be insistent no matter what he did and his irritation from being woken up and the lack of proper sleep (in the last few days himself) was getting to him. With another groan, he pulled the blanket off of him, pulled her up by the arm while simultaneously grabbing the pillow, and headed to the bedroom.

He tossed her onto the bed and made a hand gesture for her to scoot inside against the wall. Dropping the pillow down on his side, he wrapped part of the blanket around her and the other half around himself. "Now go to sleep." His head on the pillow with his back facing her, she watched as his breathing fell even again. Incredulous, she leaned forward to see, yes, he truly fell asleep, just like that.

Her skin prickled with embarrassment and the realization that they were sleeping in the same bed together. The plan had worked to get him to the bed to sleep and her on the couch, but to think that both of them were on the same bed was enough to wonder why did she have to be so stubborn to make him have the bed. With the added bonus that he didn't seem too bothered to be sharing a bed with her, she felt a little miffed. But then, his exhaustion was evident in how he had just fallen asleep so quickly just now that she knew her pride fizzled. It was unfair to put that on him.

Curling into a small ball sitting upright on the bed, she adjusted herself around the blanket to fiddle with her phone briefly by sending more messages to Allura as to not have her worry. But the desire for more sleep was felt in the drooping of her eyelids, turning to rest on her side so that she could keep watching Keith's sleeping back. It was too much to hope, it was too much to want something she knew she could not have. They were friends, two friends who were stubborn and wanted the other to not suffer sleeping on the couch. He shifted, turning so that he rested on his back with his face angled in her direction. She adjusted the blanket so it covered up to his chin.

Soon enough, her own eyes slid closed and she fell back asleep.

—X—

When Keith woke up, it was around three in the afternoon with something warm pressed against him. His eyes fluttered open to see a sleeping Pidge curled on his arm. His other arm had fallen into the sloping curve of her slim waist, hand hanging off her back. He stiffened, realizing just how small Pidge truly was in comparison to himself. Her arms were curled against her chest and he resisted the immediate urge to pull her close to himself when she was already in his arms.

Slowly, he gently pulled his arm free from underneath her head and the other from resting on her waist. He froze when he heard a soft noise, quiet, and discomfort by being moved. "Sorry, Pidge, but I need my arm back," he murmured. She made another sound that sounded like she gave her okay and adjusted so he could completely remove his arm. She went back to sleep and he sighed with the slight shake of his head.

Sitting up, he gave a low chuckle when he observed Pidge's sleeping visage. His fingers caressed her cheek, moving aside hair that had fallen onto her face. She looked so peaceful he didn't have to heart to wake her. He paused, admiring her briefly when his mind flicked back to that night. Such a stark contrast and now, she looked even lovelier with her being this close to him. Long hair spread out behind her and her slim frame covered in a t-shirt that he could _feel_ did not cover her legs. But, something stopped him and his chest tightened at the thought. Pidge… didn't think of him like that… did she truly? Someone she wouldn't mind… dating?

But the tightening began to turn into a painful ache. He had already told her that she was a friend. A friend, and nothing more. Was he going to regret what he said?

Keith slid slowly out of bed and prepped himself for the weekend. Just before leaving the bedroom, he gave Pidge another lingering glance, wondering if it was a mistake or if there was more to that night than he had thought originally and closed the door behind him.

Pidge woke up shortly after by an hour. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes of the sleepy sand and tugged her phone off the phone charger to glance at the messages she knew Allura would've sent. She replied back hours ago, responding with, "Pidge, pretending isn't going to work." And another smirk emoji.

Part of her had the inclination on throwing the phone, another part of her wanted to respond immaturely, and another part of her just decided maybe it was best to ignore it. Either way, she did not want to respond. Still, to appease the worry she'd have otherwise, she simply texted that she was at Keith's, much to her earlier assumptions. Going to the bathroom to freshen up and texting at the same time, her brow quirked at the response.

Me (4:47): I'm at Keith's. No, nothing happened and please stop smirking.

Allura (4:47): uh huh. Glad to see you're awake now and it doesn't make it any less true.

Me (4:48): Nothing. Happened. Seriously.

Allura (4:48): Pidge, you're really not helping yourself, you know.

Pidge glared, even though she knew her friend wouldn't be able to see her displeasure at where this conversation was going. Now finished with the bathroom, she sat on the bed and tried to come up with something that'd throw Allura for a loop. Well, here was a shot in the dark.

Me (4:50): Sure, and it's not like Shiro didn't stay the night or anything right? Since I was gone?

When Allura didn't immediately respond, her irritation dissipated and was replaced with disbelief. She hadn't been expecting to be right, but Allura and she had an agreement not to lie to one another. It was what best friends did so they could watch out for each other.

There was a knock on the door, distracting her from the conversation when Keith poked his head in. Spotting her, the corner of his lip curled. "Oh, hey, I got some food if you wanna eat."

"Wait, you got more food?" She blinked. She hadn't expected him to shell out more cash for her while she was staying over. Standing upright and heading over to the door, she frowned. "You didn't have to; I could've made us something."

Keith pushed the door open and crossed his arms to lean on the doorframe, brow lifted in skepticism. "Really? You cook?"

"I mean, I'm nowhere near as good as Hunk, but I get the job done." She huffed, crossing her arms while she stood in front of the taller. "I've had to cook for my brother a number of times when our parents were working a lot." And when her mom wasn't feeling particularly well.

"Huh," he seemed in disbelief with his brow arching higher and shrugged. "Well, I already got food so too late for that." He turned off and headed back out into the kitchen where he began to pull the food from their assorted containers.

Pidge followed out after him when she felt the phone vibrate. Putting her and Keith's conversation on hold, she glanced down at the phone to see Allura's response when it was just an emoji that had a zipped mouth. For a moment, all she did was stare at the text message until Keith prodded her back to reality, blinking.

"You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost," his quirked brow remained arched but furrowed when he saw her expression. "Is everything alright?"

She tilted her head at him and thought about how can she tell Keith that Shiro and Allura are together? Though, she wouldn't put it passed him if he noticed something was off about his big adoptive brother. But then, Keith was seriously dense when it came to romance so the idea of Shiro and Allura being together was almost out of the scope of what he may or may not comprehend. Still, Pidge wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt since she suspected this wouldn't stay quiet for long. _Especially_ , with how both of them acted when their emotions were at an all-time high.

"What?" Keith looked concerned. "Do I have something on my face?"

And then Pidge decided to leave it and let Keith find out for himself. She turned her foot to head to the couch. "Oh, nothing, don't worry about it."

Plopping on the couch, she heard him scoff behind her. "Doesn't seem like nothing Pidge." And the rustling of the bag reminded her of the food that was to come. The very idea made her stomach growl and she wondered what it was that Keith got for them this time. "Anyway," he began, as if he read her mind, "I got us some burgers from down the street. Supposed to be organic… or whatever of natural ingredients." She could almost see him shrug when she tried to find something on the screen for a movie on the familiar interface of movies, shows, and cartoons. It was almost by habit that he'd prepare the food and she'd find something to watch on the television.

"I didn't take you for the healthy type," Pidge remarked.

"Well, I gotta be kind of healthy. Gonna go to the gym later."

Her head turned to see him walking over with the aforementioned burgers on a plate. Their conversation died when they began to eat, finally settling on another movie that involved mutants. When they were finished was when Pidge jumped up and volunteered to clean up.

His brow lifted, "Did someone get good news or something to make you so chipper?"

"Nope!" She popped her "p" when she dumped the bag into the trash before heading back to the couch. Dropping down, she leaned back to find her arm touching his. For a moment, her heart leaped into her throat at the proximity, one she hadn't been stressing about until the warmth of his skin warmed hers. The connection of skin made her warm and heat her neck and cheeks, recollecting a memory of his skin on hers in rather inappropriate places.

Pidge didn't want to look over at him, afraid of what he might be doing or what he'd say while they digested their food. A silence fell over them and she was beginning to remember certain parts of that night. It was quite the unfortunate timing.

 _He pressed her into the mattress, his mouth on her neck after having removed the neck piece. He placed himself between her legs and her fingers ran through his hair. She sighed when he nipped her skin and grinded himself against her. Eagerly, she knew what greeted her between his legs and felt a need build. And then clasping her hands on both sides of his face, she lifted him from her neck to resume the breathless kisses…_

Keith cleared his throat, clearing the silence as he said at last, "Well, uh, I should… get going…"

"Y-yeah," Pidge coughed, not really looking at him but she braved a glimpse to catch his cheeks flushed with an equally as red ears. He rose from his seat and she curled a pillow against her torso. Even though it had been _weeks_ since they had that hazy night, it felt as though her _body_ remembered what her mind did not.

She tried to not dwell on what had happened, but she was beginning to remember when she thought she had forgotten. _His hands running along her flushed skin and her back arching off the bed to press herself against him. A hasty and ragged sigh and his teeth grazed her skin before returning to the hungry kisses that had their bodies pressed together._

 _His dark eyes flickered in the dimly lit room and her eyes had long since adjusted to the faint light illuminated by the moonlight through the window. Hungry eyes and a piercing gaze that sought something_ more _than what she could give, but was willing to try…_

Left alone with her thoughts that seemed more like fantasy than a memory, Pidge shook her head. Her body was flushed from head to toe.

"Pidge."

She glanced up and was startled to see Keith standing in front of her. He crouched and while there was some red dusting his cheeks, his brow lifted in gentle inquiry. "Uhm, you okay? I lost you for a sec there."

Intimacy was new for Pidge, she wasn't going to deny that, and the fact that she might have possibly lost her virginity under the fog and influence of alcohol scared her. But what scared her more was the underlying desire underneath that haze that was _okay_ with the idea of it being with him rather than anyone else. That above all else, she was _glad_ that Keith was her first time. It saddened her that she didn't even remember such an important step in a relationship, spurred by alcohol or not. However, her curiosity was blooming at the thought of what else they had done that night. After all, she was jumping to conclusions since all she could recollect was a really _hot_ make-out session. (And she just wanted another, this time while she was sober because she had just now remembered that his kisses were enough to drive her insane.) But she was not going to let her hormones drive her thoughts.

Her gaze diverted away, oddly focused on something on the television screen when nothing was on. "Uh, yeah," she cleared her throat. "Y-You go to the gym and I'll still be here. I think I'll tackle some school work."

Keith rubbed his neck in thought, knowing full well that it was likely that she was lying about her well being since it was obvious she was not. With his heart racing at what _he_ remembered when their skin touched, perhaps a bit of space for tonight was a good idea. "Alright, if you say so," he relented. Hands on his hips in question, his brow lifted, defying what he felt toward Pidge when his mind was swimming. "I'll be back in a little bit." He ruffled the top of her head, smirking himself to normalcy when she screeched.

"Keith!"

He snickered and headed to the bedroom to change into his gym gear. Pidge watched him disappear and pouted while she began to focus on fixing her hair. By the time he was out of the bedroom and on his way out, she had already pulled out her laptop and was typing at a surprising speed. She was so focused that she gave a near grunt of a goodbye when he was about to head out, and Keith realized she was in the zone.

It was when he left that Pidge paused in her typing to look at where Keith was standing just moments ago. Her memories only told her it was just a hot make-out session, _that was all_. That's it.

What a liar, she thought to herself when she slammed her notebook against her forehead.

 _That_ wasn't just a makeout session with how much he… Shaking her head even as her cheeks colored anew. God, her cheeks burned so hotly she wondered if they were inflamed. She repeated banging her head with the notebook against her head and stopped with a tired sigh. Over-thinking this wasn't going to change what happened and what was more, this had happened more than a month ago. Acting like a high school kid _now_ when it was totally…

 _She fucking kissed Keith Kogane_.

And then she couldn't help the girlish giggle that bubbled from her stomach that fluttered with giddiness. Her hands lifted to her mouth and neck respectively, remembering what he had done. He had marked her all over her neck like she had been _his_ that it made it near difficult to hide it in the following days after that night and he seemed nonchalant about it. His attitude afterward had stayed the same and nothing had truly changed between the two of them.

"How much of that night was that Keith?" she murmured aloud to herself after the giddiness wore off. When no other memories came, she began to settle into her school work. Reasoning with herself that Keith wasn't going to feel that way about her made the feelings disappear, and was less inclined on feeling hopeful. It was fate's terrible way of showing her something that could've been, but wouldn't be by letting her remember something as amazing as that one night with Keith.

Meanwhile, Keith focused on the gym and managed to distract himself long enough from thinking on the surfaced memories. It was only when he was jogging home did his mind wander. He remembered her slim form pressed against his and how much _smaller_ she was in comparison that he wondered if she was as ti... _Okay_ , _not gonna go there when exercising_ , he chastised himself. Approaching the apartment, he found Pidge hyper-focused and didn't even move when he entered. Since he's been gone, he found her on the empty space in front of the tv on the floor. With her laptop adjusted to be a tablet, there were scribbles on the screen that looked familiar in shape. Her notebooks and papers were scattered around her with similar notes drawn in pen and pencil. Her fingers flicked the touch screen pen to scribble something and switched the screen over to what looked to be a simulation video. Then she would mutter and return to the writing on paper and tablet.

He let her continue her work, glad she was well enough that she could work since he heard from Allura and Shiro that she had been under the weather. His observations about her told him she was anything but. Tired, yes, but so was he so it wasn't like there was much else to compare it with. He recalled the previous day where she had appeared when they had apprehended the bike thief. She was out of breath from running, yes, but…

Closing the bedroom door behind him, he paused in undressing when he remembered Pidge looking a little pale. Tossing the shirt and shorts into the laundry basket, he skipped forward to the previous night when he woke her up from sleeping on his couch and how there was some color that had returned to her cheeks. Rosy from being burrowed under comfortable blankets and her hair curling from sleep. An endearing image that made his heart skip a beat. It became worse when she gave him that smile afterward. He's never felt the urge to willingly touch someone, let alone in such an intimate way.

But she _had_ looked better after sleeping at his place. In addition to the extra sleep that they had taken since this morning… afternoon, she had slept enough to look well rested.

He recalled Allura's concern for Pidge. Even Shiro mentioned that something seemed off. They were the only reason why he was giving this so much thought, more so than usual.

With a grunt, he turned on the shower to wash off the sweat. When he was finished, he stepped out after a quick pat down and was dressed in his usual black T-shirt and black pants with thin grey stripes. With a smaller towel around his neck, he headed back out to sit on the couch. With a water bottle in hand, he observed Pidge briefly. Long hair pulled to the side in her signature ponytail, eyes furrowed in concentration, and a pencil tucked behind her ear with the tablet pen in her free hand. The glow of the tablet reflected up and her gaze was sharp while she wrote more formulas on paper. Her eyes were lidded, framed by long lashes while she focused on the task at hand.

She was…

He looked away with a rub of his neck. Maybe it was the time he got started on his work too so that his mind wouldn't wander like it was doing just seconds ago. Pulling open one of the books from last night, he set it on the coffee table and resumed from where he left off.

The next couple of days had continued like this on repeat, but each time, Pidge always had to go back to the apartment that she shared with Allura to get more things. After each trip, she would end up staying the night either with Keith to share viewpoints for projects or for general relaxation whether it via games or just talking. Since classes started back up a few days later in that same relative time span, Pidge had used the key he had given more than once and had the apartment to herself and often took over the living room. She was surprised to see that Keith had never once uttered so much as a complaint as she began to take over more and more of the living room with her work.

"You honestly don't mind me just continuing to crash here just to work like this?" she asked one night.

"Nope," he shrugged when he scratched his head with a pen. His gaze flicked up, "Why? Should I be?"

"Well, I mean, it's kind of rude of me to just invade your pad like this," she gestured to the now many mechanical parts that littered the floor to put her hypothesis to reality.

He shrugged again and returned his attention to his paper. "Not really. I mean, I've visited Allura and Shiro when you were here and it looks like they've taken up all the available space in your apartment so I figured… hey, why not? I know that apartment isn't gonna fit _three_ projects, let alone yours in just that bedroom."

She stilled, glancing back at him before shaking her head. She wanted to retort that it was rude of him to peek into her room, but she also couldn't argue with him that yes, her bedroom was _tiny_ in comparison to his living room. And with the robot she was building, there was no way her bedroom was gonna be big enough to compensate for the amount of necessary space required for parts and the robot itself.

And with Allura's big paper due soon, she knew the living room would be half consumed by charts and paper print-outs just for comparisons. With it laid out before her, it would make it easier for her to assemble the desired end result. And Shiro… well, Shiro was quite basic. She had learned from Matt that he wanted to major in being a pilot and to support it, he was studying to become an aeronautics engineer. She could only imagine the disaster the living room was now.

Hence, her continuous overnight stays at Keith's apartment. At first, she was bothered that he had been so willing to share a bed with her and now, he habitually took the couch and she took the bed. And Pidge was reluctant to argue when he seemed adamant. It was as if that one morning when she woke him up was a one-time thing and there was a sort of distance that was kept between them. Not like she minded, but still…

"Pidge!"

She glanced up from her tablet to see a familiar face from one of her classes. She blinked. A male about Keith's height stood before her with blue eyes and dirty blond hair. He had a round, square-like face that resembled Hunk, but it didn't protrude outward. He had kind lines around his eyes and a seemingly easy-going smile. "Yes? May I help you, Rick?" she asked, tilting her head. It was rare for him to approach her when she had been the one to. Usually for school assignments and small lab projects in class, but otherwise, their interactions together had been restricted to just being classmates.

"Ah, may I sit with you?" He gestured to the seat in front of her. She gave a nod and he sat down. "Ah, um… I can't believe I'm here, but ah, are you busy later today?"

She tapped a pen to her chin in thought. No, she wasn't. Aside from working more on the robot she had been building, she was quite free. Keith was going to busy with his classes and wouldn't be back at the apartment until late at night. Lance and Hunk were at home with their families tonight so it was unlikely she'd hang out with them. "No? I'm pretty okay this evening, why?" She returned her attention to her tablet, scribbling something as if an idea had struck her. She changed the tablet back to a laptop and began to furiously type her next formula.

Because of this, she never noticed how nervous he appeared or how he adjusted his shirt in anticipation of the next question. However, at the last second, he chickened out and deflated when he asked, "Is it possible that we can hang out some? I mean, there's this get together tonight of our class where we're all gonna talk theories and why it should be debunked or why it's valid… A debate night, if you will."

Pidge paused her typing and glanced up. Well, that sounded interesting and it sounded highly unlikely that it would be unproductive since it's a bunch of like-minded people gathering together to discuss theories. Man, she hadn't had one of those since her family had a big game night about this. Plus, her secondary family that included her brother, Shiro, Lance, and Hunk were kind of occupied with Finals and some family stuff so it was unlikely that they would want to be bothered. With a small smile, she said, "Sure, I don't see why not? Where and when?"

After that, Rick was happy to give the time and location. After exchanging numbers so that they could meet up beforehand, she straightened her glasses to watch him leave. Well, it couldn't hurt. It wasn't like there was anything important to happening tonight.

Dressed casually in a pair of washed out skinny jeans that hugged her frame with a pale green t-shirt with a graphic of a tree and Celtic symbols underneath a zipped hoodie, she was leaving Keith's apartment when he stopped by.

"Oh? Going out somewhere?" he asked when he paused in the doorway as Pidge was leaving.

"Yeah, to hang out with some classmates for some games." She was already descending the stairs.

"Have fun?" He watched her leave by bike and disappear down the street. Shaking his head, he headed inside to pick up his stuff for the last class while ignoring this strange sense of loss.

A few hours later after many rounds of laughs and finally ending the night on a high note and goodbyes, Pidge was about to leave when Rick stopped her.

"Hey, Pidge, did you have fun?" Rick asked.

She grinned, "Yeah, that was great! I haven't gotten the chance to game like that in a long time. Thanks for the invite, Rick." She kicked the kickstand of the bike up.

"No problem." There was something about his smile that comforted her. He was softer than the sharper features that Keith had. He was less intense and… and _not Keith_. "I'm glad you had fun. I was thinking you were gonna bail though if I gotta be honest."

"Why?" Her brow lifted in question.

"Well, you hang out with Lance and Hunk and I thought you would've made plans already. And you hang out with Keith a lot nowadays so I thought—"

"Oh! No! We're not! Definitely not." Pidge shook her head quickly while waving her hand in front of her. "And I see Lance and Hunk on a regular basis so hanging out with them is always bound to happen, but the two of them had plans with their families tonight."

"Oh, I see!"

Okay, while Pidge wasn't exactly super experienced in the relationship department since she's had like _no experience_ with the opposite sex in terms of dating, she could tell that this guy was interested in her. After all, she had just clarified with him that she was very much single (good job, a lie probably would've been better if she wanted to avoid this). She'd better nip this in the bud right now before it got out of hand.

"Rick, I appreciate this, I honestly do, but I'm n—"

"Well, I don't want to hold you up too long since it's getting late—Oh. Sorry, you were saying?"

Speaking in unison was difficult, especially when she stopped partial way while he was speaking. "Oh, nothing," she lied. She mentally scolded herself. Maybe it was nothing, maybe his interest wasn't all there.

He smiled and she mirrored him before her grip on the bike tightened. "Would you like me to walk you home or are you close enough you—"

"No, I'm good, thanks though." No, his interest was there and her hope for it to be not died. But she wasn't interested in dating, at least, not right now. After all, she had Keith…

No, she didn't have Keith. She was going to have to try to _move on_ from him. The thought itself disheartened her when she had noticed that they were getting closer with each passing day. Closer, yes, but not the way she had hoped. After all, there was no hope for a relationship when he never saw her that way, right?

"Okay, then I'll see you tomorrow, alright? I live in the dorms so I'll see you around, Pidge."

She waved goodbye and waited until he was out of sight before turning and taking off on her bike to head to Keith's apartment. There was an uncertainty that hung heavily in her chest and with Keith acting as he always had, maybe it was time to consider having an actual date with someone so that she wouldn't just be stuck on him. Her chest ached at the thought but knew her decision was right.

The next week passed in a blur. During the school days, she hung out with Lance and Hunk and when they had their own classes to attend to, she hung out with Rick. Their sense of humor was the same so they laughed at all the same jokes and she found with time, that they shared the same interests whether it was music, art, or heaven forbid, politics. It was like a dream come true because there were the occasional hiccups in disagreements of interests. There were certain topics she couldn't talk to either Hunk or Lance or even Keith, but Rick seemed to understand her.

At the end of said week, Keith observed Pidge was pretty giddy that evening. "What's up, Pidge? You seemed to have been in a really good mood all week," he looked over with a raised brow. The last time he had seen her this happy was when Shiro and Matt took her to a convention out of town. (He couldn't remember the kind of convention it was for the life of him.)

"Oh, it's nothing," she chirped while she finished a sketched design on her tablet.

"You sure? I mean, if it's good news, it's cool to share it."

She glanced over and gave a grin, one he hadn't seen since that night on the dance floor. It was that sly half-smirk, half-grin of hers that made his heart skip a beat. _What the hell?_

"It's nothing too big that's considered good news," she returned to her laptop. "I just made a… well," she paused to make a bashful chuckle, "I made a new friend that could be something… well, I don't know yet." Something like a potential boyfriend maybe, but she wasn't going to say that and possibly jinx herself. Just because he showed interest in her, doesn't mean it's the same mutual attraction, right?

"Oh." Too focused on the laptop that Pidge failed to notice the flash of emotion that reflected anything but happy at the news. He rose from his spot on the couch, "I'm gonna call an early night."

She turned from her tablet to him and blinked. Normally Keith was up for much longer and was willing to give feedback on her work in progress. And now that he was heading off, she was… disappointed. "O-Okay, night, Keith." Pidge knew he stayed up only so she could take the bed and he could take the couch without them bothering the other while they worked. So, this sort of early call was unexpected.

His gaze locked with hers briefly and his voice dropped to a soft tone she's never heard him use before, "Night, Pidge." And he turned and headed off to the bedroom, leaving her the couch tonight. How strange. What's more, she watched him close the bedroom door when he normally left it open. With it left open, it gave the choice on whether or not she wanted to join him. (She never did, but she liked what it meant.)

Her arms dropped to her lap and she slouched where she sat, the ache in her chest becoming prominent. "It… shouldn't hurt; I'm passed this," she whispered to herself when her hand lifted to her chest. Rubbing the spot where it felt like it hurt, the ache faded and she sighed. Maybe she should call it an early night too.

After finishing up what she was doing, she stood and headed to the bedroom door. A hand lifted like she was going to knock, but froze. No, that was a boundary she didn't make—he did. They were _friends_ , nothing more and nothing less. Instead, her hand touched the door and for the first time, she understood that they weren't ever going to truly be more than that. She thought she had before, but, now, it was clearer than the moon in the night sky, that they were friends.

Another sigh and she left the door and turned off the living room lights. Settling herself in on the couch, she pulled off her glasses and set them on the table with her charging cell phone. No tears were shed, but instead, another wall had been put up between her and Keith.

Two hours passed before Keith stirred from his non-existent slumber. He sat up and noticed that the living room lights weren't on. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand that read near midnight. She was normally still awake and would be for the next several hours until she finally fell asleep while working.

Sliding out of bed and crossing to the bedroom door, he opened it to find the rest of the apartment dark. Walking silently across the floor to where she slept on the couch, he noted her sleeping face and how tired she looked. A wry smile spread across his face when he knew that she hadn't been sleeping that well since she's been forcing herself to finish this project. Sitting down on the edge of the couch so that he wouldn't disturb her, he assumed that she wouldn't wake. And for the first time, he allowed himself to touch her like he had been wanting to since he had first woken her up on this couch.

A gentle caress on her cheek and he stiffened when she moved. His heart jumped into his chest when she leaned into his touch and he pulled away as quickly as he could without waking her. He waited with bated breath to see if she would wake, but she stayed asleep.

He sighed, turning to rest his elbows on his knees with his head bowed and his hands clasped together. Honestly, what was he doing? Taking advantage of a sleeping girl by _letting_ himself touch… Oh, please kill him now. A gentle touch wasn't something he was used to giving and receiving was a whole different story. There was something about Pidge that made him want to care for her differently than anyone else he had met before and he wasn't even sure why.

With his eyes shut tightly at the very thought of doing something possibly as obscene as taking advantage of Pidge, he let himself recall that night. How whenever she gave one of those smirks of hers would make his heart skip a beat and how when she hungered for more kisses that night, both of her hands reached for his face so that she could kiss him. Their first kiss together was at the nightclub and he remembered how their teeth nearly banged into one another. It led into the next few times of him teaching her so that by the time they made it to his apartment, she had already found her preferred style of kissing him.

He liked how her fingers curled into his hair while she cradled his face between those talented hands of hers that made beautiful machines. How she giggled when she could feel him smirking in their kisses and how she made him feel whenever their skin touched.

 _It was one night, Keith_ , he thought as the ache returned in full force. _It was one amazing and coincidental night of dancing and… her_. He stood up slowly from where he sat, his gaze returning to where she slumbered.

Maybe… just maybe, it was the time that he confronted these feelings of his. Whether it was genuine love or not, he'd never know, but he at least wanted to give it a try. He was attracted to her and he wanted her to be more than just a friend.

The next morning, Pidge was blasted awake by the sound of her alarm blaring at full volume. She hastily reached for her cellphone and slammed the alarm shut. With her heart slowly coming to a steady pace instead of the frantic rate it was at seconds ago, she realized she was on his bed again. Moving from the bed to where she knew he was sleeping on the couch, she deflated to see that he wasn't there. She wondered if he was avoiding her but chalked it up to him needing to be at school early today.

After sending a quick text in his direction, she got ready for the day and headed out.

The next week had been Finals and with everyone so busy with exams and final projects being finished, Pidge barely saw Keith, let anyone else aside from Allura. She had stopped going to Keith's apartment for the sole purpose of Allura seeking her help on the last minute preparations on her final. Pidge never had so much had a further forethought on what had happened that awkward night. It was only when the week neared the end did Rick send her a text, asking if he could see her. Deciding that it was a good idea and a way to give herself a break, she agreed and headed out once she made sure Allura was all set for her last class.

When she rode up to the park that was near the dorms, she waved hello in greeting and he stood up from the bench and came over to surprise her with a hug. At first, she stiffened upon the initial greeting but relaxed shortly after when they parted. "What's up, Rick? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head and looked a bit sheepish. "Ah, no, well…" he paused, looking a little awkward when he looked down at his feet, but then he appeared to have brace himself.

Keith had just turned in his last final early, finally free from exams and was prepared for the vacation that was soon to come. Maybe he could ask the gang for a trip down to the beach. He knew Allura had a beach house that they could all share. (It would also be his way of also spending a little more time with Pidge.) It was highly likely that Allura was already planning something like it anyway.

However, just when he was about to head home, a familiar figure caught the corner of his eye. Turning from his place at the window, he slid it open and was about to call out to her when he realized he could hear the conversation from where he was.

"I'd like for us to become boyfriend and girlfriend, Pidge," the male said.

It was like his blood had turned to ice and his mind was unable to process what the other had just asked. Wh—What did he just say? He was reeling from the shock that he barely caught Pidge's response.

"O-Oh! Um… I… Rick, I honestly wasn't looking for a relationship—"

"So, you're not interested," he interrupted, sounding dejected.

She shook her head, "Wait, let me finish!" And she formed a small awkward smile. "I wasn't looking, but you and I share a lot in common that it made me think that I might want to give it a try, so yes, I'd like to go out with you. I mean—"

Keith didn't bother listening to the rest of the conversation because he had slammed the window shut.


	4. Strained

**Summary** :

When Pidge confronted Keith, she didn't expect to find him closing himself off or the hurt she'd feel from his words. In the end, it might be worse than it actually was and to protect themselves, they both shut down instead.

 **Author's Note** :

This is a little shorter than my normal chapters, but enjoy! Again, I love comments and I greatly appreciate them/reading them so if you leave any, you are simply darling! And for those who have, thank you so much! It warms my heart that you guys enjoy my story as much as I do.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Strained.**

Keith never answered that text message. In fact, Pidge started noticing the lack of them. Normally, he sent her cute ones that involved memes or light-hearted videos that he knew would immediately relax her when she was feeling particularly frazzled. It was like she lost a piece of something that had been ingrained in her to always be texting him, especially when they were both rather preoccupied with school but needed a break from it. While his texts were often short and curt, like how he was blunt, it made his texts easy to read. It was rare he ever decided to use emojis and when he did, Pidge always snorted and laughed aloud because it seemed so out of character.

But the last string of text messages he sent was around two weeks ago:

Keith (3:35 PM): when's your last final?

Me (3:49 PM): today at four.

x - June 20XX - x

Keith (8:54 PM): ?

Me (8:56 PM): I'm on my way with food! :D

\- June 20XX - x

Me (8:27 AM): where are you?

Me (12:41 PM): FREEDOM!

Me (12:42 PM): when's your last final? We should meet up when you're done!

Me (1:15 PM): Keith?

Me (3:37 PM): I hope your finals are going well?

Instead of his often brisk responses as was expected of him, he sent no such texts whatsoever and in fact, made it feel like he was ignoring her texts. It was disheartening. The last text message she had sent afterward was: hey, you going to the party that Allura is throwing? And his response had been a simple "yeah" and had thoroughly ended the conversation. He never continued it with a question of his own or let her know how his finals went. It was like she was cut off somehow from what she had once been so privy to. If he was going to act like a child, then so be it. It was just disappointing that he wouldn't communicate with her like he always had before.

A few days had passed and evening had fallen with her back at the apartment with Allura. Lance and Hunk were hanging in the living room, getting things ready for the small party to celebrate the last day of exams. Hunk was helping her with the last minute preparations for food while waiting for Shiro and Keith to arrive. (And then the gang's all here!) Lance was preparing the drinks for the small get together to have in lieu of the celebration.

Pidge, not really being much of a partygoer like Lance was or a fantastic cook like Hunk decided to leave her older friends to do the preparations. Though, it was mostly Allura going, "You should rest! You haven't been feeling well so rest up while you can." And then was promptly shooed off to her bedroom. Even when Pidge voiced her trepidation about there being alcohol (not wanting a repeat of that night at the nightclub), her best friend simply stated that Coran would be checking in now and then from the apartment downstairs. After all, it had been the only way that Allura would've been able to come to Altea Uni without staying in the dorms.

Appeased, she was now laying down on her bed staring at the ceiling and wondering what she was to do next. It felt strange having no more work to do and scoffed, knowing that in reality that her work was truly never finished. There was a competition she could participate in during the break but would have to get started on it next week to have it done by the deadline. With that in mind, it left her a few days to think about what she could submit. However, the thought of more work when she was as tired and mentally drained as she was, only made her want to hate herself.

Covering her eyes with her arms, the cell phone on her chest vibrated. Lifting it, the faintest tug of her lips curled when she saw a text from Rick.

Rick (7:24): hey. U resting?

Me (7:25): yeah. What's up?

It was strange to call him her boyfriend when her first experience of one was in her last year of middle school. A boy named James asked her out on a dare and she accepted, giving him a unique surprise since he had expected her to decline. They dated for three whole uneventful weeks before they broke up because the school year had ended. All they did was hang out at lunchtime and during the classes they shared. When meeting up between classes that they didn't have together, they only just held hands. (Vaguely, Pidge recalled how clammy it felt and how it was kind of… boring.) After the mutually agreed breakup, she never gave another thought to the idea.

Rick (7:25): just wondering what you're up to. :)

Her brow quirked and she sat up. But when she did, her head spun and her vision blotted out as it darkened from the edges in. She felt like all the blood left her face and with a shaking hand to brace her head to keep it steady, she took a ragged breath in an effort to not throw up. She felt a wave of nausea hit her. That's weird. She's been eating healthier meals since she's returned to her shared apartment and exercised daily to keep fit. Why was she suddenly not feeling so great?

When the spinning did finally stop, she heaved slow and even breaths until she was absolutely sure it passed. Okay, really weird. It was as if that bug from two weeks ago came back to bite her, _again_. Maybe she should opt out of the party tonight.

Slowly shaking her head—and hopefully the feeling away—she returned to her phone.

Me (7:27): Just waiting for my friends to finish prep for a small get together. You?

Her thumb slid to the button on the side, locking the screen and stood up from the bed when she heard the doorbell ring. She could hear Shiro's voice greeting everyone and knew everything was about to start. Turning to give one last glance in the mirror to make sure she looked presentable with her ponytail pulled to her side, a v-neck light grey shirt with a green tribal lion graphic on the front, and a pair of her favorite worn out faded skinny jeans. Once she looked nice enough to her general standard of what was considered nice, she paused, reiterating that maybe it would be a good idea to just bail on the party for more sleep.

That actually sounded like a really good idea.

Though, in hindsight, it was probably the wise thing to do when she could barely keep her thoughts in line anyway. It was highly unlikely for her to try to do any of her projects without messing up or probably setting the apartment on fire. Neither of those ideas sounded like a fun thing to deal with so sleep wins today.

Heading out of her room, she stiffened when she saw Keith about to knock on her door.

Pidge glanced up to see Keith, rubbing his neck and pulled his hand down. "Hey, Keith."

She watched his brows furrow together and tilted his head.

"Pidge, you don't look that great, you okay?" he asked, even though she had the sneaking suspicion he was asking something rhetorical and knew it.

"I've been out of it, yes," she answered mechanically. Man, sleep was sounding better and better with each passing minute. It was like cotton had stuffed themselves behind her eyes and her mouth.

"You can skip out on the party if you need to."

"I know and I am," she sighed, running a hand over her cheek.

"Then I'll let everyone else know, you just go and get some sleep."

Blearily, she blinked up. Her mouth opened, thinking about the lack of her patience and was about to retort something that fell in line with something smart, but then conceded, feeling tired thinking about the energy required to even say it in the first place. Her mouth closed and gave a nod.

"Thanks," she breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll see you in the morning then."

He gave a nod and a small smile, "See you."

She stopped, and her cheeks warmed watching the hard edges of Keith's face soften. "You know, I'm always here for you, right?" she murmured.

He closed his eyes briefly and reopened for a lidded gaze. His voice was quiet, "Yeah, I know."

Satisfied, Pidge turned and went back into her bedroom. Closing the door behind her, she felt that whatever possibly strange thing that had been happening between her and Keith had dissipated. It was like a silent apology that he couldn't say aloud because something had been happening to him. Shortly after she was curling up into bed, her phone chimed.

Keith (8:01 PM): Sorry for being MIA. Sleep well Pidge. We can talk more tomorrow.

She went to sleep with a smile on her face.

When she woke up nearly six hours later, she ran to the bathroom to throw up the contents of her stomach. When she was done, she just kind of sat there for a minute before standing up. She was going to get some water and some medicine and go back to sleep. Her head felt stuffy, her body was aching and sore, and she wanted nothing more than to die right there. Ugh, and she wasn't even on her period. Someone kill her.

With how dark the apartment was, she could hear the soft snores of her friends on the couch. Glancing into the living room, she spotted Hunk and Lance sprawled out on the two pieces of furniture comfortable enough to sleep on. After ambling around in the dark to find some extra blankets, she draped them over her two friends and absently wondered if Keith had gone home.

Giving the living room another once over, she turned and ran into Keith. His low voice caught her by surprise, "Be careful." Securing her, his hands held either side of her. Almost like a soothing balm, her coiled and clammy body calmed and relaxed underneath his touch. It warmed her that he reflexively held her to make sure she wasn't wobbling too much.

She gave a subtle nod and in the dimly lit hallway that was only illuminated by the bathroom, she wished her heart didn't skip a beat when his eyes shifted to hers.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he asked softly. He leaned down and his hand reached out to touch her cheek. "You're burning up."

She only nodded.

 _Her hair was down._

Ever so slightly, his eyes widened at the realization that her eyes were bright enough to catch his attention. Flashes of a memory blasted into his mind and he wished the fucks he could give would come back because what was happening wasn't something he normally did when he knew the other was taken.

 _Her tawny hair was spread around her when he unzipped and tugged her dress free, revealing a pale form that seemed even_ white _under the moonlight and against the darkness of his sheets._ She was beautiful _. That half-crooked grin was alluring and he couldn't help but lean in to kiss it away, welcomed by the touch of her hands on either side of his face._

"Keith," her voice was soft, so quiet that it was the opposite of what he was used to. But because of it, it had managed to pull him back from the memory that he wished he didn't remember, right at this very moment.

He leaned close to her, bringing one hand to her forehead to feel her temperature. He knew that it wasn't a good alternative without an actual thermometer, but he knew at least she was too hot to the touch.

He pulled away. "We should get you to a doctor."

"I'll be fine." Speaking was looking like it was starting to tire her, her eyes drooping and the fact she was leaning against him now that he had to drop his hands. A quiet whimper was heard and he resisted the urge to indulge in what she wanted him to do.

"Pidge, you're sick." His voice was still soft enough that it wouldn't wake the others. Hopefully.

Her eyes lifted to his and it looked like she was debating on something. A glint of determination flickered across them and he knew she was intent on finding out. He wasn't sure if he should be alarmed that he already knew what she was going to say or be appreciative that he understood her well enough to know what she wanted.

"I've been trying to focus on myself for a bit so responses weren't that important." Not a lie, but he couldn't deny that he was kind of ignoring her. He'd never admit that texting her was a habit and he had more than once opened her text thread to send her something, only to stop before typing a response when he realized what he was doing.

"Focus? On yourself?" She sounded amused.

"It's my business what I do in my free time." The moment the sharper-than-intended words left his mouth, he regretted them.

At that, he felt her body tense. "But you were fine with my texts a week ago and the weeks before that."

He was trying to place her in bed while figuring out what to do with an uncooperative Pidge. What's more, trying not to let his anger get the best of him. His temper was quick when he's had one too many. Only when he's managed to have her sit on the bed did he kneel down in front of her. His gaze lifted to hers and held it. "Yes, but I really needed this."

She pursed her lips. Normally, she wouldn't press an issue when he didn't feel like talking about it. She wasn't one to whine either so he was waiting for her to slap him or something. But today wasn't exactly normal. When she spoke, her voice was inquisitive and quiet. "You were avoiding me though, even when Shiro and Allura were here. They said they even asked you to come. So spill."

Normally, Keith tagged along whenever Shiro made a visit to their apartment. It was only recently that the two felt a little awkward with Allura and Shiro making googly eyes at one another that made them stop trying to hang as much. He eventually stopped tagging along because he felt like was intruding half of the time. One glance with Pidge and he knew she had shared the same thought.

"I'm not avoiding you now, am I?"

"No, you're not."

"Then we're good."

"Keith."

"Pidge."

"Dude," she groaned, running a hand through her hair that it messed with her bangs. He tried his best not to flinch because he was forcing her to talk and he could plainly hear the fatigue in her voice. "We've been through hell and back and you're still thinking it's better to just push me away?"

He closed his eyes, remembering the time where Shiro and Allura had introduced him to the rest of the group. The only reason why he had been introduced was that Shiro had insisted that Keith needed more friends than just his textbooks and Shiro. Keith had been fine without friends, seeing as they always up and left whenever it suited them, that he had resigned himself to just having Shiro and Allura. (He didn't mind since they were his closest friends.)

He met Lance by coincidence and forgot about him for a year until they began sharing classes again. But Lance had been the one that remembered him. By extension, it was obvious that night when he met Hunk and Pidge that they already knew him well enough and he knew nearly nothing personal about them. The only thing he remembered, if at all that night, was what Shiro had told him of Hunk and Pidge.

Hunk was aiming to be a mechanical engineer with his favorite hobby of cooking to dominate the world; he was what Keith had called the "BFG" or big friendly giant. He's a gentle soul at heart, one that Keith found almost uncommon and was grateful for as he became the second voice of reason next to Shiro.

Pidge was the rumored genius he had heard so much about a girl that was too intimidating to approach because she had the potential to snap one's head off. After all, she graduated high school at the age of sixteen and entered Altea University a few months later after the ceremony without breaking a sweat. Of all people, she was the one that Keith probably had heard about the most because of Shiro and Matt being best friends. They were different and he had never felt The need to make friends with a girl that made a name for herself just by the research papers and projects she had published and shared with the known world. In fact, so much so that her name was right up there with Samuel Holt and Matthew Holt. Their family was special and Pidge was the last in the line of such an amazing lineage.

He only got to hang out with her on occasion when Shiro and Matt met up and they happened to tag along with their elder brothers. But other than the small talk they fell into and the occasional bonding moments that made them more familiar acquaintances, they knew next to nothing about one another.

And now, she sat in front of him, patiently waiting for him to spill and was bordering on irritated, if she wasn't already. If he wasn't careful, he might push her buttons much like she was pushing his.

He opened his eyes to focus on her. "No offense, Pidge, but I'm positive that what I do at every minute of every hour of the day is not entirely your business."

"I'm _not_ asking about your itinerary, _Keith_ ," she snapped. She tried her best to keep her voice low so that she wouldn't wake their friends. "I'm just asking what animal crawled up your ass and died, you prick. Stop avoiding the question."

Pidge observed him sigh, and stood up. He rubbed his temples. "Look," he dropped his hands to cross them across his chest. "I'll talk about it when I'm ready."

She wasn't sure if it was rational or not or what came over her, but the irritation that held back what was her anger flooded her like hot lava encompassed her. Normally, she knew in this situation that she would agree and give him some space. But something irrational kicked her in the gut anyway and demanded she found out why he was avoiding what was clearly bothering the both of them. She crossed her arms, matching him as she huffed.

"So you're not going to tell me."

She remained steadfast looking at him, even as he winced at her biting words.

His eyes narrowed, "You're not yourself, but please, don't push this."

Where the energy came from, she wanted it gone because she knew it was draining her. But, for now, running on the angry high she had, she didn't feel anything. She stood to try at least match him in height in this argument. "Is speaking such a hard thing to do for you? I know you have a hard time with words, but it's just us here."

"It's not hard. You know what, fine. Then tell me this: why didn't you tell me that you're dating someone, Pidge. Please explain _that_ to me and then I'll tell you why." His own heart would've stopped if he had realized what those words meant.

He winced when she flinched as if he had physically slapped her.

While it was no big thing against either of them, irrational thoughts seemed paramount in this moment and were likely to bite them both in the future. Keith, too influenced still by the remnants of alcohol and Pidge, for no known reason, was feeling the pinnacle of emotional distortion that only reminded her of that time of the month. While his words came as a shock to her, there was a disappointment in it as much as the one she felt for him.

"Who did you hear that from?" she whispered.

"I overheard you accepting a guy I don't know when he asked you to be his girlfriend," Keith replied with the shrug of his shoulders. His eyes reflected a darkness that only matched the pain in her chest.

It was like a bucket of cold water had slapped her irrationality away, she was ticked that he had the gall to say that when she just wanted to move on from him. "I'll say this once and _only_ once, but who I date," she jabbed a finger to his chest, "is none of your business." She could feel her eyes burn but she blinked them back. She was not going to cry and she'll never cry over Keith again. "Your opinion to me is as important as everyone else's, but the fact you said that to me like it's a terrible thing disappoints me. Especially when you just stopped answering my texts, how was I supposed to tell you?"

She had thought they were best friends.

He dropped his head to her level and remained steadfast. "And for that, I'm sorry, but that doesn't mean you get to hide something important." He grabbed her wrist where it hovered over his chest. "Like how you've been lying to everyone about how you're actually feeling. You've pushed yourself far enough and we need to take you to the doctors. You can worry about how I act all you like but," his grip tightened, "I'm not going to stand by to have you on your high horse when you're no better." He dropped her wrist and took a step back. "Now, I'm going to get you some medicine and you're going to bed. And when you're asleep, I'm going to tell everyone that you're going to the doctor's tomorrow because you refuse to do so yourself."

He did as he promised and Pidge could not utter a single word of complaint. In fact, every time she tried to, he'd glare at her to silence. Finally, she went to sleep with the feeling that their argument was not at an end.

After all, they had not rooted out the problem.

X — x — x

Lance normally wasn't that person that'd eavesdrop on a conversation. Normally. He had woken up in the middle of the night to go use the restroom, only to walk by Pidge's bedroom to hear the quiet argument. They didn't even need to yell at each other to know that they were both disappointed and angry. He didn't expect Keith and Pidge to be so heated in the said argument. Now, he and Keith argued, but it was nowhere the level of emotion that was laced into each of their words that even he could feel from where he was in the hall and moved away from their argument. And he wished he didn't hear what he did because he knew that there was nothing he could do for them without overstepping the boundary lines that they have seemed to set for themselves.

Lance was making himself a cup of coffee when morning came and, unsurprisingly, the next to wake was Shiro. He had stayed over in Allura's room (much to the group's glee) when he retired for the night. He was dressed in fewer clothes than he wore yesterday but still appeared to have slept in said clothes when he went to make himself a cup of coffee. He blinked when he noticed Lance leaning against the counter and staring at the closed door of Pidge's bedroom with a mug hovering by his lips. His arms were across his chest, helping the mug in its place and were vacantly drinking his coffee.

And Keith was nowhere in sight.

"You're up early," Shiro commented while he waited for the coffee to brew. It looked like the alcohol had no effect on the elder since there appeared to be no signs of a hangover. What a friggin Superman.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Lance mumbled, taking an absent-minded sip of his coffee.

"Lance, you okay?" Shiro came to stand beside him.

"Yeah, I think so." After all, the argument hadn't been that bad. But he knew that Pidge and Keith were the types of people to stew things over forever. It'd be highly likely that it'll explode in the future with how temperamental Keith was and "no-nonsense" Pidge was. No, he needed to do something. These were his friends and he wasn't going to let their relationship suffer. He didn't want to choose between Pidge or Keith, as much as he would like to say otherwise.

After a moment, Lance could hear Shiro patiently waiting for him to further emphasize on the unsaid "but" that was on the tip of his tongue. Taking small sips of coffee and hearing Shiro making his own coffee, the taller eventually leaned against the counter next to him.

It was a silence that was appreciated while Lance gathered his thoughts.

"—Shiro," his voice seemed loud after a companionable silence, "how do you fix something that is breaking and probably gonna blow up?" But even though he had asked, that even though it wasn't his problem, he knew on the inside that everyone else was going to feel the damage soon and he wished that he could prevent it.

Shiro blinked in surprise, unsure if the question was genuine or a joke. But by the look on Lance's face, he decided it was a heartfelt inquiry. Still, this left a deep-seated worry that didn't seem to leave even as he spoke.

"Without knowing the whole story, I'm not sure I'd be much help. Did something happen?" When he didn't answer, Shiro sighed. "If it's breaking, I think being there to help patch it up would be best. At least, stave off the impending explosion, if that's what you think will happen."

Lance finally looked away from her door and stared at the lip of the coffee mug, replaying the argument in his head. It rested on his lips as he wondered how to answer without breaching something that the pair had thought to be kept secret. "Yeah, that sounds right… I just hope the explosion, when it does happen, doesn't hurt us too." He took a sip of his coffee.

After that, Keith's and Pidge's relationship was strained and while the two of them shared text messages, there was a sense that both of them were a little more distant than before. Instead of the brand new rubber band that they were, it had been pulled taut and if not cared for soon, was going to snap.


	5. Consequences

**Chapter 5: Consequences.**

* * *

\- June 20XX -

Rick (12:48 AM): Get together? How'd it go?

Rick (12:57 AM): I'll ttyl! Have fun!

Me (4:48 AM): I ended up sleeping haha

Rick (10:50 AM): I hope you got a lot of rest

Rick (12:19 PM): Say, idk if it's too early or not but is it possible I can take you out tomorrow night? My timing is probably horrible tho isn't it

Me (2:53 PM): Oh… Maybe if I'm feeling better. I'll give it a shot, but I'm not feeling too hot. (sad)

Me (2:54 PM): Sorry if I don't message you back. I'm really tired so I'm sleeping a lot.

And then promptly passed out again. Honestly, sleep was her best friend the last few days and in spite of her wanting it to be otherwise, she kept sleeping everywhere and anywhere she could. And while Shiro and Allura tried to keep her awake with some tea, she seemed to consistently fall asleep on the couch or on their eating table. Nothing worked and then the throwing up happened and quite frankly, it was the worst few days she's ever had.

\- June 20XX -

Me (12:35 PM): I'm sorry Rick, I honestly don't feel so great.

Rick (12:36 PM): ): Oh! I'm sorry to hear that, do u want me to come by? I can bring soup.

Pidge stared for what felt like longer than she should have at his text message. There was a knock on the door and she blearily glanced up at Allura who looked in. "Oh, Pidge, it doesn't look like bed rest is doing you much," she murmured when she came in. There was a glass of water and what looked to be soup on a food tray. Shiro peeked in his head moments later.

"We should get you to a doctor; I know Matt will want me to." He came in but remained standing near the doorway.

All she's been doing was sleeping and getting up to barf what felt like every time she woke up. But it wasn't bad enough that a bit of sleep couldn't cure. Inwardly, she noted that it was probably impossible for her to work on anything if she's so exhausted and sick. It felt like all she wanted to do was sleep for the last few days, but then, she's been sleeping a lot even during the week of finals.

She hummed when Allura's hand touched her cheek. "Oh, Pidge." She turned to face Shiro, "We need to take her."

"No," Pidge managed and pulled away. "I'll be okay…"

There was a ring at the door that had the three of them exchanged looks. Allura and Shiro gave another to each other before Shiro lifted a hand and silently excused himself. She returned to Pidge and a minuscule smile crept across her face mostly in reassurance for herself and to soothe Pidge, "We'll get you to see a doctor, okay?"

She made a small grunt, understanding that there was no way around it at this point. Being on bed rest made it obvious that one wasn't well enough to even do even the most mundane of tasks. As much as she had wanted to hide it, it seemed she couldn't hide it anymore. More so when she had just thought that this was a regular cold that would go away in a couple of days. Instead, it persisted and only got worse. In the end, she had no choice but to agree with a small nod.

Her eyes drifted over to the doorframe and they grew wide when she saw the recognizable silhouette of her recently established boyfriend. Allura gave her a look and Shiro only looked puzzled. "Rick," she breathed, sitting forward to don the robe that was sitting on top of her comforter in her attempt to appear decent. "I didn't know you'd be coming by."

Allura paused, standing to place herself between Pidge and the male who approached. To any particular male, she was an intimidating woman who commanded respect and held an air about herself that demanded order. "Rick," she greeted, her voice cooler and formal that even her face fell into a practiced impassiveness. "I was not aware you'd be visiting us today." Even from where Pidge sat on her bed that she knew Allura would have words with her later.

"Sorry," Rick said sheepishly. "I guess I kind of rushed over here without thinking. I mean, my girlfriend was sick so I thought I—" He looked down to his hands.

Both Shiro's and Allura's eyebrows shot up to their hair and turned to face the sick girl in question. The minute glance said everything and Pidge wondered how the hell she was going to get out of this.

"—and here I am with a thermos filled with… soup." He seemed to have noticed the freshly made bowl of soup that sat next to her on her nightstand.

He looked dejected and Allura's one brow remained lifted in wary skepticism.

"Thanks, Rick," Pidge gave a grateful smile despite the fact now she had two bowls of soup to drink. She didn't feel like drinking either of them but the thought was appreciated, nonetheless. The thermos was given to Allura and she gave a small nod. "Thanks for stopping by, but I don't want to give you whatever this is so you should probably go." She gave a sniff.

"If you say so," he gave a nod, "I do hope you feel better soon, Pidge." He looked hesitant as if contemplating what he should do before deciding against what he was initially going to do. "Just focus on yourself and get better." He gave a small smile and turned to face Allura and Shiro awkwardly, giving them an awkward wave and nod to them respectively before heading back out of the apartment. Shiro disappeared briefly after him.

"Pidge, I didn't know you got yourself a boyfriend," Allura said the moment Shiro left and the sound of the door closing in their apartment.

"I—well—it was kind of a new thing that happened during finals," she said as she snuggled herself back into the blankets. Oh, sweet blessed comfort.

Allura pursed her lips, hand on her hip before deciding to cross them across her chest. "I don't want to press when I don't have to, but Pidge, when were you going to tell us?"

Pidge leaned comfortably into the pillows and watched the doorway to see Shiro approach the room. Instead of crossing the threshold, he just crossed his arms again and leaned against the doorframe. Lifting her hands from underneath the covers, she covered her face with a heavy sigh. Honestly? She didn't want to think hard about the implications and she didn't want to think about what it meant for her to be dating someone that she thought was nice. He brought her soup!

She dropped her arms heavily onto the covers and said, "Well, eventually, but ya know, been kinda sick that I didn't think it'd be the right time to just blurt, 'oh yeah guys, did you know? I have a cute BF now!' Right."

Allura blew her hair out before running a hand through her hair. "Alright, well, now that's out in the open, Shiro and I will be taking you to the doctor's first thing in the morning because you're clearly not getting any better no matter what medication we've retrieved for you."

Shiro gave a nod and Allura left the bedroom with a weary sigh. He watched her head down to the living room before he entered the room. "You know Pidge, Matt's going to kill me that we let you even go on this long without even seeing the doctor."

"Shiro, just because you're my brother's best friend and you're like a second older brother to me, doesn't mean that every time I do something of my own choice that you should have to feel bad for them. They're my decisions. And I'm not five anymore."

Her eyes turned to watch him rub his neck, and just like Allura, his lungs expanded and a rush of air left him in exasperation. "I know, but I worry Pidge." His eyes softened and she suddenly felt terrible. Well, more terrible than she already was.

"I'll be fine, don't worry too much." Her voice was soft, knowing that Shiro's heart was in the right place. It always was. "Now, I'm going to sleep like a good kid like you want me to be and you can take me to the doctor's tomorrow. Sound good? Good because I'm going to sleep. Night."

Burrowing underneath the blankets as the drowsiness threatened to take her under, she heard him chuckle and in spite of herself, smiled too. "Good night, Pidge."

x — x — x

What awaited her at the doctor's office was the strange eeriness that she disliked about hospitals. She's never really liked them and she wasn't even sure why. It was too quiet, too still, and so lacking in the life that surrounded her daily life with her friends and family that coming back here brought tugs of memories of a time she wasn't sure she truly remembered. All she remembered was a time so glossed over by sad memories that she had forgotten why it had made her sad in the first place. But the unpleasant feeling never left her stomach even as she sat in the waiting room.

Instead of Shiro and Allura taking her to the doctor's like they had said they would, she was surprised to wake up to Matt in their living room. With a small wave, she couldn't help the small squeal when she moved as quickly as she could to hug her brother.

"Man, Katie, you're warm like a furnace," Matt had said, his voice dropping several octaves. She merely shook her head, suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of homesickness that she had forgotten about when she was so engrossed in her projects. "Thanks, Shiro, Allura. I'll take it from here."

And here they were.

And then they called her name. Given that it was a regular checkup just to diagnose her with a cold and that they were going to be done in a matter of minutes, she told Matt to wait in the waiting room for her. They led her to an examination room that was as unfeeling as those cold memories that licked at the fringes of her mind.

The nurse came in, asked a bunch of questions, took her temperature, and then had her pee in a cup. (Delightful.) She waited around in the room for what seemed like hours. Playing on her phone only occupied her mind for so long that she began to teeter off to sleep when the doctor finally entered. She blinked when the doctor smiled gently at her.

After answering some more questions, Doctor Lane pulled her to sit down. "Okay, Katie, I'm going to ask you a few questions before I can figure out what's been happening."

Pidge nodded in spite of the puzzlement she felt. Sitting there on the tissue-like paper clad seat, she tilted her head. "What's wrong, Doctor?"

The woman wheeled herself forward on the rolling chair, her long mousy brown hair pulled into a neat bun and kind laugh lines formed around her eyes whenever she smiled. "Katie, when was your last period?"

"It was like two months ago, but I skip my periods regularly. Sometimes it skips for more than a few months though."

She nodded, taking a note down. "And how are you feeling?"

"Well, I feel nauseous a lot, I throw up a lot when I wake up, and sometimes, I can't keep food down. But this only happened recently, which is weird because I've never had a bug this bad before."

Again, the doctor nodded before setting aside the tablet that she was scribbling in. "And have you been taking care of yourself recently?"

Pidge stared at her lap. Now wasn't the time to lie to the doctor. "Well, I've been skipping meals here and there, and I haven't been exactly sleeping well."

"Are you in school?"

"Yeah, I am."

"And are you doing alright in school?"

"Yeah, we just had finals and there was this big project due before summer so I didn't really sleep like I should've."

The doctor nodded. "It sounds like you were stressing out your body more than you should've, but I'm going to run some tests to make sure that's all it is. So, for the moment, I'll be right back to check on those and let you know my diagnosis." She stood and left the room.

Pidge obeyed and remained sitting on the chair, watching after the doctor left and hummed, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

She bit the inside of her mouth when she felt the wave of nausea beginning to grow. Holding her hand to her face, she closed her eyes for brief and slow breaths. Eventually, it passed and she was okay again. Hopefully, soon she'd get some medicine and just be out of here.

Pulling out her phone, she skimmed her phone's texts and replied to the recent few. Rick, Allura, and Shiro asking how the visit to the doctors was going and Matt sending her videos to help pass the time. Until he eventually recommended a mobile game that he had recently gotten into that would probably be fun for them to play together while they were apart.

Eager to pass the time more efficiently than idling like she was now, she began the download. But her phone refused by popping up a notification that said her phone was full. Full? Frowning, she skimmed to her storage of her phone to find that it comprised mostly of photos. Making a mental note to take and dump them on her laptop when she got home, she held off on downloading the game and decided to go down memory lane. Arranging it so that she started at the beginning, a small smile began to grow on her face when she relived the moments she just got this phone. She took pictures of Allura and Matt to appreciate the high definition that the phone offered. Eventually, Shiro came into the picture with Keith and she had a few pictures of them thrown in. At first, he was surprised and then the next picture she had was a smiling Keith. Unlike the one that sat in her room, this one was one she had taken herself and had just him in it. It was a small smile, but his eyes glinted that familiar look that depicted a sense of trust that they had developed together over the years.

It was also a painful reminder that she felt like he didn't exactly seem to trust her anymore.

The more she skipped through the pictures, the more she realized her feelings for Keith. He was in almost every picture and she's counted too many pictures with just the pair of them. Some taken when she wanted a selfie with him and others were someone taking the picture for them. Of course, there were too many group pictures of the whole gang but Keith always stood out the most to her when she flicked passed them.

That is until she flicked to a picture she didn't remember taking: it was one where Keith was still dressed in his clothes from the nightclub standing in the doorway of his apartment. Next one had him in his kitchen, a selfie with him and her and amazingly, her makeup was still as perfect as Allura had set it on her. The only difference was the lack of glitter on her face and how it had transferred to his shirt and his collar. The next one hurt because it was actually a really good picture and would be her favorite for the coming days.

She was laughing and Keith had his arms wrapped around her torso. His head was bent so part of his face was seen, indicating that he had been the one to take the picture, and with his face against hers. There was a genuine grin that went to the cheek kiss as if he couldn't help himself.

Instead of looking like the drunkards she had thought them to be, they looked like a couple that was in love.

She was tearing herself apart looking through the pictures as it progressed from such pictures to ones of them actually being cute together and posing with silly faces. There was a video of him cursing at the television because they apparently played a game or two on his only console. And then her own video of the same thing, both of them raging. And then the last few pictures were all of him, his mouth opening and closing of words she couldn't remember. He was leaning back against his couch with his hands on his abdomen and a small smile on his face.

And then, of all the times to remember, Pidge wanted to cry.

 _Without knowing what she was doing, her fingers fumbled with his pants that she could hear Keith chuckle. "Come on, you gotta do better than that," he murmured when he took her hands away._

 _She pouted, "But you need to feel good too."_

 _"And I will in a moment, but for now, let me finish what I started before we get to the fun bit. Otherwise, you're going to be sore and in pain tomorrow. And we can't have that can we?"_

 _"O-Oh, no, but—Ah!"_

 _"There we go."_

Her cheeks burned and so did her eyes. It couldn't be true, it couldn't!

 _His hands roamed her skin again, nails lightly scratching her until he cupped her and entered his fingers into a sensitive part of her that she had never let anyone else touch before. She knew his hands were calloused, but this was something else entirely. Between his index and middle, she could feel him rubbing her in a way that only escalated a blindingly necessary need for release. Words dissipated when his fingers entered her that she didn't even get to cry out because he was always smothering her with kisses instead._

 _It was only when she was at that edge did Keith part just inches away from her. His fingers helped her ride out the rest of her orgasm before he finished stripping. Somewhere along the way, she knew her panties were tossed aside along with her dress. It was dark and all she could feel was his size when he parted her just enough so she could feel the tip._

 _He was bent over her when his lips touched her cheek and her ear. His voice was hoarse as if he was restraining himself. "... Can… May I?"_

 _Her arms wrapped around his torso as she whispered, "Yes…"_

 _"Hold on."_

 _What surprised her was the lack of pain and instead, only felt the minor pinch of her insides wrapping around him. His breathing was ragged in her ear and she could feel their bodies becoming sticky with sweat. His muscles were tense and his head rested on her shoulder. But he continued to push in and that's when it started to hurt, but still, not as much as she thought it would. Her fingers dug into his back when he groaned, unable to keep himself quiet when he buried himself in her._

 _"Damn," he hissed. "I—"_

 _She couldn't breathe. Pidge was unable to help the moan when he started to move and then cried out when he rubbed slowly in a direction that she was accustomed to, but unfamiliar with when he rubbed her._

 _"What_ are _you—" And her nails dug into his back and she bit into his shoulder to keep herself quiet._

 _"Oh_ fuck _," he groaned when she shuddered around him. She was so sensitive after the first and now the second that every move he made had her extremely receptive that an orgasm was near instantaneous._

 _And then he started moving and all she could think about was the next one and wondering what it felt like to try to aim for a stronger orgasm…_

"Katie."

Her eyes snapped to the doctor in front of her when she retained that smile, but she could see the hints of genuine happiness for her.

"Congratulations, you're pregnant."

At first, Pidge thought she was dreaming when her heart dropped to her stomach, but the throbbing pain in her head and then nausea that she felt in her stomach then said otherwise. If she could stop the world, she would. Who knew that having sex _once_ and unprotected would lead to an immediate pregnancy? What was she going to do? What was she going to tell Allura? Her parents? Matt?

Keith?

x — x — x

It had been a few days after the initial argument with Pidge that Keith found himself taking out his anger on a training dummy that he had taken up to beat up. He shouldn't have argued with her, he shouldn't have taken out his uncertain feelings out on her, and he shouldn't have asked her about her new boyfriend so soon when she wasn't even feeling well in the first place.

He punched the dummy again with a frustrated grunt that the dummy slammed into the floor with a loud bang. It startled the rest of the gym goers, but he could care less. He turned to where he had his towel and bottle was sitting to find Shiro waiting. He was surprised but didn't say anything as he approached his adoptive brother to take the offered towel to wipe off the sweat that slicked his skin.

"You've been here for five hours, Keith; you need a break."

Crap, had it been that long?

Wiping the sweat off of his face, Keith gave Shiro a pointed look. He replied gruffly, "I'm fine." He began to drink the sports drink in his hand when Shiro sighed.

"Keith, you're not acting like yourself—what's eating you?"

The younger wondered if it was okay to spill his guts to his only family, but he wasn't sure how much Shiro would take it seriously and how much of it would even be plausible for him to say much of anything. Feelings weren't something he was good at expressing, especially when it came to the deeper ones that involved a darkness he wasn't sure he was good at escaping.

However, Keith and Shiro shared many things in common in that regard.

"Keith."

Dark eyes flicked up to the older who had his hands resting on his hips. "This isn't like you."

"I—I have a lot on my mind. I thought exercise would help me think through it."

Shiro hesitated, following side by side until Keith grabbed his gym bag and was heading out. Leaving the gym, he was surprised to see the sun had gone down and would have to walk home in the dark. It was only when he strapped his bag into place on the bicycle did Shiro grab his shoulder, forcing him to stop and pay attention.

"Keith, Pidge has been sick for the last week and went to the doctor's today."

Fractionally, his eyes widened and he turned his head away while his torso could not. Oh, so she finally went to the doctor's to check on her health that had seemed to be stuck on eternally exhausted? Though, he could only assume that it wasn't by choice but Allura's.

"Good; she's been needing a visit." He shrugged himself out of Shiro's hands.

"Did you know? That she's been progressively getting worse?" his voice sounded like an older brother worried for both Pidge and for the person he was talking to. He wasn't angry but rather disappointed. He knew him better than that and could probably never be truly mad at him.

And Keith didn't know when had it become a secret about how poorly Pidge took care of herself.

"No," he answered truthfully. He had watched her sickness come and go, thinking that it was only a really bad cold that never seemed to leave her alone. After all, Keith had remembered the cold that Matt had given her all those years ago. Pidge was bedridden for two weeks.

"Keith, keeping everything bottled in isn't… going to end well if you keep doing this." Shiro was quiet and he heaved a quiet exhale. It wasn't fair to keep too much from Shiro since he was his family now. It wasn't going to change no matter how much time had progressed.

"I know, I know," he turned from where he stood to face the other. "But, let's… let's go back to my apartment and talk. I don't want to be out here when I spill my guts." He tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Shiro nodded and walked alongside him. When they got to the apartment, Keith had to swallow the bitter pill that remembered that Pidge wasn't going to waiting for him with a mess for him to side-step. He glanced to the side and Shiro gestured with his head.

"Go ahead; wash up. I'll make myself at home."

With a nod, he headed to the showers for a cursory rinse. With a brisk wash just to get the sweat off, he meandered silently out to his bedroom to dig through his closet for a clean pair of clothes. He had a washed pair of boxers on and some pants, but no shirt. Absentmindedly, he noted that it was probably time to do the laundry since there was scarcely anything clean left. And it was only when he lifted a shirt that had fallen to the floor did something soft drop to his feet. Puzzled, he moved aside his shirt to look and bent down to pick it up.

A faint and familiar fragrance of perfume wafted to his senses and he turned the hair clip to reveal the three teal colored flowers. His eyes widened when the scent made him remember that night.

 _"I—I can't!" she gasped, only for her to clench around him and shudder against him._

He dropped the hair clip like it burned him. It was the exact thing that would make him remember the rest of that night if he wanted to. But he didn't want to. It was a painful thing to remember now when the last thing that had happened had left him and Pidge on a bittersweet note. More so now since she was with another person... That, in itself, felt like something was wrong with the world since he and Pidge had always worked really well together. And sometimes, just sometimes, he'd always know what she needed without the use of words and her the same with him. It was what made their relationship... different.

"Keith? You okay in there?"

Hastily, he scooped up the hair clip and moved to his bed as he shouted, "Coming! Sorry, got held up trying to find a shirt." At the nightstand, he gave the hair clip one final and long look and then placed it in the drawer.

He was going to have to deal with that later, he noted when he tugged the shirt over his head. Staring at the door where Shiro was just beyond it, he sighed and wondered what he was going to have to say to ease the questions that he had for him. Unlike everyone else, he was the one person he knew he couldn't just lie to.

Exiting his bedroom, he found Shiro sitting on the couch and looking through his phone. He seemed more relaxed than he had been earlier. He sighed and Keith immediately moved, reacting without knowing the reason why.

"What's wrong Shiro?"

He moved to sitting next to him.

"No, just relieved," he leaned back into the couch and ran a hand down his face. "Matt just texted me, saying everything's fine with Pidge and that she'll be okay with some more bed rest. He said it sounded like she just had a really bad flu."

Keith released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He felt the tension that had been coiling in his body relax. That meant she should be on her feet again soon enough and would be ready to take on the world.

"That's good, right?"

Shiro nodded. "Yes, but Matt is still concerned. He said that Pidge isn't talking about what's wrong beyond her flu." He shook his head and pulled out his phone when the subtle sound of something vibrating. "She shut down on him and after telling him what the doctor had told her, she just asked to be alone for awhile. Oh."

Keith leaned forward on his knees, wondering what had happened. Sliding out his phone from his pocket, he checked the notifications to find nothing new in his inbox. "What else?"

"Allura texted me and asked us to come over."

"Why?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"What do you mean 'why', Keith? We're going to check on Pidge." He looked puzzled at Keith's initial reaction and he turned away, rubbing his neck. This wasn't a good time for him to start thinking about the awkwardness of his and Pidge's relationship right now. "Matt said he got her medicine so she should be feeling better soon. She figures that Pidge might talk to one of us if we're there because something's clearly up. Lance and Hunk are already on their way."

"Shiro," Keith began.

Shiro had already stood up from the couch and was standing in the entryway. He stilled, turning to face the younger.

"How did you know when your feelings for Allura were the real thing?"

Immediately, when Keith lifted his gaze to his brother, he was surprised to see his face turn a bright shade of red, like a cherry.

He rubbed his neck and averted his gaze. "W-Was I that obvious?"

He couldn't believe it. Really? After a year of somewhat subtle flirting and staring at the other, he finally admitted it and looked like high school kid confessing his first crush. In a way, it was refreshing to see his normally calm and collected brother be thrown off by something like a girl in his life. Keith couldn't help the brief twinge of jealousy and his hands tightened their grip on his knees. Taking a quick deep breath to relax his grip, he scratched his cheek. "Well, kind of," he replied.

Shiro ran his hands down his face. "We tried to keep it on the down low for awhile," he confessed. "We weren't sure how everyone else would take it."

Keith blinked. Part of him wasn't surprised that Shiro had finally started dating the fair-haired young woman, but the other part of him was in disbelief that he had thought that he was keeping it on the down low. Either way, it's not like Keith minded too much. It had been his business of what he wanted to do. After all, a commitment was something that both of them have had a hard time dealing with.

"I understand," Keith said quietly. They were family so he had hoped that he wouldn't have kept it secret from him.

"Keith, it's not because I don't trust you—it's because I wasn't sure how it'd even pan out before I considered it serious."

Surprisingly, Keith found himself lacking the anger he should have since it had always been them against the world. Brothers coming together that was thicker than just blood and it was more than enough. He shook his head, a small smile appearing to reassure Shiro. "No, I understand." He couldn't be mad. At least, not at him. "But, how did you know you held feelings for her that made it become serious in the first place?"

Shiro's embarrassment faded and he returned to the living room by sitting down next to Keith. He was staring at his hands that were clasped together. Half of Shiro's body was turned toward him and he sighed, facing forward as he contemplated on how to best answer the question.

"I didn't know until something she did made me feel like I was—" he paused, struggling to find the words. Keith lifted his gaze to watch Shiro try to figure out what he was explaining. "—like I was light again. It's always been just me and you, ever since you were adopted into our family." His eyes darkened, stricken and heavy with grief and fatigue at the recollection of a time long ago. "I was barely eighteen then and you just started middle school. Having always been just me and you made it heavy and never once, did I think about what I wanted for myself."

Keith turned away. He was only a kid, but losing nearly the whole world that had been the family he was adopted into was earth-shattering. He remembered the pity and the sympathy that he realized he didn't want because that was all those people at that age gave. Like Shiro, he had never once had the time to think for himself what he wanted and thought about how to make it easier for his older brother. So, he understood. Shiro worked tirelessly and he got to go to school and goof off for a time. Shiro never had the luxury.

"And then we met her when we both had enough scholarships and funds to attend the University."

Keith will admit he worked tirelessly throughout his senior year on scholarships and academic success just so he could go to this university without paying for a cent. Now he held a part-time job to help tide him over if some semesters ended up being short. He couldn't keep relying on Shiro.

"She was in the first class we had together and we were lab partners. It was… amazing to see the changes on her face when she was being honest." He rubbed his neck, a nervous chuckle, "Basically, I guess, I realized I cared for her was when she lost her father. I had wanted to be her support."

Keith held his gaze on the other, watching the subtle changes flicker over his face. He knew it was genuine affection, that much was certain, and it hasn't been out of pity. Like Shiro and Keith, Allura only had her aid, Coran, after the death of her father. They could share the pain that no one else shared and she leaned on him when she never had before. Since then, a silent and maturing relationship had been growing between them that was probably the same as what he was having with Pidge.

He stilled.

No, it couldn't be.

"All in all, it was serious when I wanted her to rely on me more than anyone else. I wanted to be the one she called at two in the morning if she couldn't sleep. I wanted to be the one that comforted her when she had no one else to go to."

"Shiro, you're in love with her, aren't you."

Shiro turned his head, eyes widening in surprise, and then faced forward in thought with a chuckle, "Yeah, I suppose I am."

Keith wondered if this feeling of his was love. If it was, it would explain the pain he felt at the thought of Pidge picking someone else over him. If it truly meant he loved her, then that meant he had been too late.

Because that means he probably fell for her that night.

x — x — x

Pidge stood in front of the bathroom mirror. It was long enough that she could see her torso and her abdomen. Her hand lifted to touch it, the heavy weighted realization that there was a life inside of her that was growing. And it was hers and Keith's.

Rubbing her stomach, she turned and headed back to bed. Laying down, she found her eyes staring at the ceiling and playing over the scenarios of telling everyone of her important family and friends the news. Her parents would be angry, most likely, and Matt would probably be too astonished for a time to really understand what was happening. Allura would be furious, acting like the older sister she never had and will most likely give a fierce scolding before comforting her.

At the thought, her eyes began to burn and she covered her face with her hands.

Lance, she was uncertain, considering the rivalry he always had with Keith. But, she knew that he would be concerned about her health more than anything else. The fact that he would support her regardless of whatever decision she made began the silent stream of tears.

Hunk would be just like Lance. Unwaveringly supportive and down to make her all the food cravings she wanted probably. At the thought, she choked a laugh. He'd protect her like the huggable bear he was and most likely do what's best for her even if she wanted the most obscene food ever or just the support she'd need.

Shiro was probably like Matt, astonished and unsure of how to proceed. Both were awkward and in their late twenties, a pregnancy was certainly something they had never thought about before. But he would always be Shiro and become the logical and calm influence that everyone would need if it came down to it.

Finally, there's Keith. He'd be shocked, she's sure since he'd be a father. She honestly isn't even sure how he'd react since a huge responsibility would be placed on his shoulders. He'd be pressured by her parents to marry her for the child, pressured into the caring of the child, and dealing with her as the mother of his own child.

She was only nineteen.

She closed her eyes, willing the tears to stop and wiped them away. After waiting a few minutes to calm down, she sat up and stared at her phone. In the end, she knew this whole situation was too much for a new boyfriend to handle. If she decided to keep the baby, she knew her heart wouldn't be able to handle a boyfriend, a child, and Keith in one sitting. And even then, right now, it would be too emotionally draining to balance her feelings and others without putting too much stress on herself.

Turning to her phone, her eyes watched its screen light upon a notification. Picking it up from its charger, she swiped the screen to see several texts from Allura, Matt, Shiro, Lance, and Hunk but ignored all of them to find Rick's. After replying to his initial responses, she texted him.

Me (5:49 PM): Hey, you know, is it possible we can meet up? I'm feeling well enough to go out for some air.

Rick (5:50 PM): right now? Yeah! I'll com pick u up?

She frowned, a warning bell going off in her head. But instead, she snoozed the mental alarm and replied.

Me (5:51 PM): No, I'll meet you tomorrow at noon at the park by the dorms.

Rick (5:51 PM): okay! See u then!

With that, she told him she was going to sleep some more so she'll talk to him later. Just as she gets off her phone, she tapped her phone against her chin in thought. What was not right with this picture? Something didn't feel right and while she was emotionally drained by the whole situation as it was, But, gentle knocks rapped against her door and distracted her from her thoughts. Familiar voices of Lance and Hunk spoke from behind it, worried tones asking if she'd talk to them.

How was she honestly going to tell all of them?

"I'm going to sleep for awhile, so… I'll talk to you guys later, alright?" She hoped that'd appease some of their worries.

An affirmative noise was heard and she watched their shadows underneath the door move away. Pidge returned her glance to the phone in her hand. Flicking the screen, she found one of the pictures she had left on the phone of her and Keith… her favorite one.

Staring at it, she whispered, "I almost wish I hadn't realized I had fallen in love with you, you emo." And then she held her phone to her chest.

When she went to sleep, a single text message lit up her screen.

Keith (6:34 PM): Hey, I think we need to talk…

* * *

As always, reviews are loved and appreciated! If not, that's cool too and thanks for reading!


	6. Burned

**Summary** :

Pidge prepared herself for the end of the shortest relationship she's probably ever had. Still reeling from the news, she decided after a few days to herself to discuss her options with someone, only for her to end up trying to tell Keith the news. The end result was not what she wanted.

 **Chapter 6: Burned**.

Pidge sat at the park by the dorms at a worn picnic table, waiting for Rick to show up. She was a little early, she knew, but still, to feel well enough that she could at least walk around the park was good enough. (She was still nauseous but the medicine helped alleviate it.) Nearby, she could see Allura and Shiro waiting for her to finish and in case she needed them. Matt left briefly for drinks and would be returning soon. Sitting under the shade of a tree, she twiddled and messed with her phone games until she noticed him from the corner of her eye.

She was about to rise when Rick shook his head, "No, it's okay, you're still recovering, right?"

Relieved, she gave a small smile. "Thanks." Inwardly, she wondered if this was going to be easy or as hard as some people made this to be. But, with the two of them only dating for scarcely a week, it wasn't going to be difficult.

"So, what's up?" he asked. He sat down across from her with an expectant smile.

She scratched her cheek, bowing her head with uncertainty, "Well, there's no easy way to say this so I'll just get straight to the point: I think it's time we went our separate ways."

In retrospective, she would've rambled her way over to the topic at hand, but decided not to drag this out longer than necessary. The quicker she ended this, the sooner she could get to decide what to do with the life that's slowly becoming a genuine human being. (A fact which still amazed her when she woke up this morning.) She knew it would only be respectful to both parties if she just broke things off with Rick so he wouldn't be saddled with a person that was both her friend and one she held feelings for; for Keith, so he would get the chance to be a father—if he wanted to. At the very least, discuss whether or not she should keep the baby with him and the arrangements that came with either option.

Rick frowned and pulled away. Incredulous, his voice was filled with simmering disbelief and bewilderment, "What?"

Pidge sighed. She knew this was going to be hard, but this was harder than she thought it was going to be by the sound of his voice. After all, they had only been going out for a few days—a week—at best. There honestly _shouldn't_ be any sort of strong levels of attachment.

She pursed her lips and her brows furrowed. "I said we're breaking up, Rick. Look, you're a nice guy and it's really cool that you thought nice of me to even ask someone like me out. And I'm really sorry that we had to end it so soon." She truly was. Rick was nice from what she had seen. Well, in the classroom anyway. However, she knew next to nothing about him. (Though she could've fixed that if she really wanted to.)

He shook his head, a hand running through his hair, "Wow. Dumped in less than a week, huh?"

Pidge winced. It's not like she wanted to end the relationship. She genuinely wanted to give Rick a chance, but it's not fair to him to be saddled with a girl who's pregnant _and_ so early in the relationship. In fact, she wasn't even remotely comfortable with the idea of trying to trust an absolute stranger with something this big when she had her own family to rely on. And even if that wasn't the case, she had Allura and the rest of the gang if necessary. She knew them longer and better than anyone else as did they to her.

But, still, that tone of voice he carried didn't quite sit well with her. She had expected better.

"Rick, I'm sorry it's come to this, but something's come up and I'm not—"

"I'm not trustworthy enough to try and help you out?"

Her eyes narrowed. "We just started going out. You barely know anything about me and I barely know you. Please understand that I had something important come up and I just can't balance a relationship at the same time."

He scowled and crossed his arms. "So, yeah, basically denying me the chance to try and be a boyfriend."

The accusatory tone sharpened her gaze. "Look, it's not fair to you and it's not fair to me. I won't be able to pay attention to you or give the attention a new relationship like ours needs because I'm going to be prioritizing myself right now." Pidge tried her best to keep her temper in check. She knew relationships required work and time to foster a level of trust between two people. Keith had been a good example of what time and energy meant and it was a lesson hard fought and learned to give her the understanding she had currently of people. As much as she would like to give Rick the attention he needed, she knew she was going to be demanding and possibly selfish during this time that she can't just ask that of him. It would destroy whatever future they would have. At least, in her eyes, they would. They were too young to have children and that was the responsibility she had to accept.

His eyes narrowed to slits. "And I don't get a say? We can't be together because you want to just focus on yourself?"

For a guy who shared the same classes, he didn't seem to be bright enough to be getting it. Again, that same tone grated her nerves. "Rick, it's a 'me' issue, not a 'we' issue," she explained. "Take it however you want, but I told you before that I wasn't ready for a relationship. I said yes when you asked me out that day because I wanted to give it a try. But after thinking about it, I'm now certain that I'm not ready."

"We never even had a date to give it a so-called 'try,' Pidge."

Why was he picking up on things that only involved "them" instead of "her" and "him" as two separate people? Why was it consistently a "we" issue?

"I'm not looking, Rick," she deadpanned. "I've stopped looking for a relationship. Period. I don't want to lead you on when my heart isn't in it." Especially since it seemed her feelings for Keith would get in the way of trying to move on anyway.

He didn't respond and pursed his lips. After a moment of a painfully long silence, he asked, "What's the issue you're having? Is it cause you're sick all the time?"

"Seriously, dude, what part of 'not wanting to date anymore' do you not understand?"

Again, Rick didn't immediately respond. But, those eyes were staring straight at her. They never strayed once from her and in fact, seemed to bore directly through her. Again, she resisted the urge to lash out by glancing over to Shiro and Allura nearby. _Keep calm, Katie, breathe_ , she thought the silent mantra.

When he didn't speak up, she sighed, "Look, Rick, I don't like doing this more than the next possible person, but I just wanted to be straight as I can with you so that I'd be fair—"

"Fair? How is this fair?" Rick retorted with a snarl and slammed his hands on the table. His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed when he leaned forward. "You didn't even _give_ me a chance to try and help you. Sure, we've been dating for a little less than a week and yeah, sure, we've never so much as gone on a real date, but the fact you said 'yes' still means something. It's a commitment that you'd _try_ and trust me, not some—"

Pidge has had enough. He made a valid point, but it was only a friggin' week and he was still a stranger to her. She did not deserve to be lectured by a near complete stranger about what she should do in a relationship when it was in her own right to do what she felt was best.

"Rick!" She stood up. "I tried to be reasonable but it's not working. Because you know what? It's honestly _my_ reasons as to why we're breaking up, fair or not. It's _my_ decision and I'm truly and genuinely sorry that we're breaking up before we even got the chance to really try, but it's over. I'm really sorry, Rick." She scooted out of the picnic table she was sitting at and began to storm off in the direction of Shiro and Allura. Both of them looked guarded, watching the proceedings with a sense of dislike. From a distance, she could see Matt from the corner of her eye.

Stuffing her hands into her pockets, she kept walking even when Rick was repeatedly shouting her name. It was only a week, she had reasoned, and he wouldn't feel any sense of attachment. She was wrong, so terribly wrong. Even when she had been back in middle school with her "first" boyfriend, he was nowhere near as furious as Rick was.

A hard grip snatched her left hand, hurting her and yanked her roughly to him with his right hand. "Hey—!"

"I'm not done talking to you!"

He held her arm hostage above her head. He was taller by a good few inches so he was using it against her. Narrowing her gaze and posturing herself while hearing Shiro's and Allura's voice calling out to her, she clenched her other hand into a fist to smash her elbow right into his abdomen with every bit of strength she had. He instantly lessened his grip on her wrist and took that as an opportunity to yank herself away. Turning immediately to kick him in the shin, she then made a run for it.

She barely made it into the protective embrace of Allura and Shiro, Shiro switching to protect both of them with a steely gaze. "Look, I don't want to hurt you," Shiro warned when Rick managed to upright himself and chase after her. He stopped just short of a few yards. "But, just back away… just back away and no one has to get hurt."

Allura's grip on Pidge's shoulders tightened, her mouth set into a grim line and Pidge hardened her gaze on Rick. She pushed out of Allura's arms to stand just off to the side of Shiro. "Rick, please… It's… It's over, okay?"

Rick's eyes were wild and sharp and they shrank to slits. He didn't say a word but a slow creeping smile split his face that contorted his features into a sneer. Pidge stood her ground, trying not to let fear run her through at what that terrible smile meant or could mean. But then, he lifted his hands up in surrender and spat, "Alright, fine, have it your way."

And just like that, he was gone.

"What was that about?" Allura asked the moment he was out of sight.

Shiro stood upright when they all breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Pidge with a mixed expression of bemusement and general concern for her well-being that she hesitated. "No, I didn't know he'd blow up like that," she answered his silent question. "And I don't know why he became like that."

But the alarms that had been going off in her head began to ring louder. Why? What was she missing from all of this?

"I don't like that look he gave you." Allura held a hand to her chin in thought. "It gives me chills remembering it. It's like he was… locked onto you and had no intentions of letting go."

"But we only dated a week, Allura! A week!"

"He must like you a lot more than that for him to be so mad you broke up," Shiro shook his head.

"I don't like where this is going."

"Neither do we," Allura muttered. "But we must assess the situation before it escalates."

"Especially since we're not always with you to help you." Shiro placed a hand on her shoulder. Pidge inwardly cringed. She didn't want to assume the worst case scenario, but hopefully, it just remained as a messy breakup and nothing more. If it all goes well, that would be the last time she'd see him.

"I'll be fine," Pidge managed. She averted her gaze and opened the back door of the small sedan that Shiro and Allura had been hanging out by for the last half hour. Admitting the fact that she was a little scared would destroy this image she had built for herself that she was a tough cookie and she was not keen on just being that damsel in distress. She absolutely _refused._

From the corner of her eye, she observed Shiro and Allura exchanging glances.

"I… Okay, you know what, I don't want to keep talking about this," Pidge decided. She could already feel fatigue setting in. It was draining just to have that argument and even more so, now that the energy from when he grabbed her was fading.

Allura placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get you home then."

At such reassuring and comforting words, was when Matt jogged back over with drinks. About an hour later and after a stop at the grocer's for a supply run where she amply described the entire encounter to him, Pidge was finally back home on her bed and rubbing the bruise that was forming around her wrist. It was red when she had been in the grocer's and it started to become darker by the time she came home. Poking it tenderly, she was resigned to wear her hoodies even though it was warm outside to hide it. With a grumble, Pidge hoped that it was the last time she would be seeing him and the expectation of him being a possible good person was now a pile of mush in her mind.

With Allura and Shiro in the kitchen with Coran, Pidge was left to her own devices. She was lying down on her bed, hands on her stomach in thought. There was an actual living person in there and she had made one with Keith. With a sigh, she stared at the ceiling and dropped her arms to the side of her. She was going to have to tell him, but honestly, how was she going to? There were several different ways he could take this and honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to try and think about all of those scenarios. (Although, she did and part of her preferred the idea of Keith liking the idea of having a kid with her.) But the thought always died before it really formed a thorough conversation that she thought they would have.

It's only been a day or so since the news had been given and it was already driving her crazy with "what if's". Usually, it was her favorite question, but for the last several hours, it was her one of the more detestable ones.

Sitting up, Pidge murmured to the being in her abdomen, "I wonder if you'll stay or you're going to…" A rhetorical question for an answer she felt like she already knew the answer to.

A knock came at her door, Matt poked his head in when Pidge grabbed a pillow to hug against her chest. She sat up with a tired smile, "Hey Matt."

An easy smile greeted her, relieving some of the coiled tension that was tightening in the pit of her stomach. He came over and sat on the edge of the bed beside her. "You doing ok?"

She nodded, "Yeah—Just making do, I guess. Finally getting better though."

"Good," he ruffled her hair.

While she was pouting and fixing her hair, he asked softly, "What's really bothering you, Pidge? You never told me why."

Oh. Well, she supposed that this was expected. Only Matt understood her better than anyone else and supported her no matter the endeavor she ventured on. Their age gap, where it normally was too vast to get along, worked well for the pair of them. He looked out for her and was tougher than people gave him credit for.

Her grip tightened on the pillow and she buried half of her face into its plush softness.

"I—I don't know how to say this without making you mad," she finally admitted after several long seconds. Her eyes cast down, suddenly appearing immensely interested in the colors and textures of her comforter.

He chuckled, "I don't think you could ever make me mad."

"You will when I tell you what's wrong."

"I won't."

She shot her skepticism in his direction.

"I honestly won't," he promised. "At least, I'll try not to."

She sighed and squeezed the pillow against her chest. Clenching her eyes tightly shut, she braced herself and took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant."

The confession came out in a rush of air and then there was total silence.

She peeked open one eye to see Matt in deep thought and with his arms crossed. Instead of the stunned silence like she had expected to see, he was thinking about it. She squinted.

"Matt?"

He opened his eyes and faced her. "Pidge, I knew something was wrong since you rarely get sick." He nodded, more to himself than to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "See? I'm not mad."

Okay, instead of _him_ being shocked, she was. She blinked and her expression incredulously blank.

He removed his hand and rested them on his knees. He took a breath. "Look, it's not to say I'm not surprised, I am—honestly I am—but, Pidge… I am a little disappointed because I thought you—"

"I do, Matt, I do, but—" She blinked rapidly, realizing that his disappointment overwhelmed her more than the anger she had been initially expecting.

Hastily, he continued, "No, Pidge, listen to me. Look at me."

She obeyed.

"But, in hindsight, I realize I really don't have a place to judge because you're Pidge—I'm sure you've thought too long and hard about this whole situation and you don't need me to make it worse. So I'm not going to. So you're pregnant." His voice dropped at the three words. "Okay. That'll just change how you want to challenge your future. We can tackle it together and figure out what you want to do, whether you want to keep them or…" His voice drifted off and she knew what he was implying.

In a way, she already knew what she was going to do. The idea that she had the guy she liked—perhaps even love—to have her first time with and to have their child, tickled a very small girlish side of her that she never dared think about because it felt so out of place. While it was a thought she had never once fancied except when she was in grade school, it was both terrifying and strangely satisfying.

"Have you told the father?" Matt asked after Pidge's moment of self-reflection.

"Hm? Oh, no, not yet." She grimaced.

He leaned forward, tilting his head. "Do I know who the father is?"

She nodded minutely.

"Huh, I see." He leaned back and faced forward, looking thoughtful.

"You're not going to ask?"

He shook his head. "I figured you're not ready to tell me, but you really should tell whoever it is that you are—you know."

Another nod. "Yeah, I will. I guess now I just gotta find the right timing for it."

Matt ran a hand through his hair. "If you say so, but the sooner, the better. A child is going to change everything, even if it's—" he paused, hesitant, "—just you."

Pidge tried to swallow the lump that formed in her throat. The idea that Keith didn't want this kid had crossed her mind more than once. After all, they were young and still had their whole lives ahead of them. What was more, she was positive that he didn't see her that way. They were just friends after all.

Then Matt proceeded to change topics onto something easier like, "How was school? How were your assignments?" and similar topics that began her tangent on her current frustrations of the project that she had turned in just recently for her finals. It was refreshing for a change rather than to let her mind focus on something as life-changing as a child in her life.

The next couple of days after had Pidge wondering when would be a good time to let Keith know about the news. It was difficult when Keith never seemed to be left alone whenever they got together. Heck, that strange text message that he had sent her only a few days ago had left her confused. When she asked what was up, he deflected and made it difficult to find out whatever was bugging him.

Me (9:04 AM): Morning. I fell asleep—what's up?

Keith: (9:06 AM): Oh we can talk later.

Me (9:06 AM): It sounded serious though. Really, what's wrong?

Keith (9:10 AM): Don't worry; we can talk about this later.

Keith (9:11 AM): You'll know it when it happens.

And then he proceeded to avoid the subject like he had changed his mind, which was strange since he rarely ever changed his mind. (It was a trait that both of them shared—a stubbornness to a fault.) So, whatever had changed his mind must've meant it wasn't really that important or that urgent to talk about. Absently, she thought of how important hers was to talk about and how she needed to talk to him about it as soon as possible.

But the very thought made her stomach churn with an anxiety and dread of how the conversation could turn out terribly. No, Keith was better than that… he wouldn't react _too_ badly, right?

Right…?

— x — x —

If anyone had to ask Lance what was up, he would normally be in the know. In fact, he was more observant than what people generally liked to assume of him. And after that party weeks ago, he watched as his best friends began to awkwardly avoid each other. Not that it was any of Pidge's fault, he noted, considering she was sick for a time and then just decided to ignore the daylights out of everyone else. She later came out of her room that night when Allura gathered everyone, her clarifying that she was okay. But her skin was pale and she seemed to only have regained some color to her cheeks when she had some tea.

And that entire night, Pidge glanced in Keith's direction more times than he could count.

The guy himself? Well, he only glanced at her maybe once— _twice_ —that night. At least, aside from the moments where he needed to give eye contact with her and it was… frustrating. What in the heck happened?

"So Hunk," Lance began, pointing a spoon he had been eating cereal with. His brow lifted in scrutiny. "I don't think Pidge told us everything that night."

Hunk sighed. "Dude, this is the tenth time we talked about this." He looked exasperated when he looked at one of his best friends. "Pidge will talk to us when she's ready, okay? It looked like she was put through the ringer the other day."

Munching on his spoonful of cereal, Lance wasn't convinced. "It bothers me, alright? Like, Keith's annoying as all heck, yeah, but he's not stupid enough to do whatever it was to hurt Pidge. I swear he did, I just don't know what the heck he did to make her have that—that—"

"What?" Hunk sounded done with this conversation.

"Like she was heartbroken, Hunk," Lance said softly. His eyes were staring at the bowl of cereal that he didn't notice Hunk stop typing on his laptop to glance his way.

"Lance… you never said anything about this before," he spoke quietly. "But, what makes you think she was… heartbroken?"

"She had this look on her face that just said, 'I'm sorry.' and for what, I have no idea. But Keith hasn't remotely been nearly as expressive enough for me to figure out what the heck he's thinking about anymore." Angrily, he shoved a spoon into the bowl and began to munch on another bite.

"We don't know for sure and Pidge has never expressed to us that she liked anyone."

With a gulp, Lance, again, pointed a spoon in Hunk's direction. "That's where you're wrong. I think it happened gradually and the two of them just didn't realize they liked each other until recently. Like when we went to the nightclub."

Immediately, Lance watched with surprise as Hunk's face tinted pink. "Yo, dude, what the heck?"

Hunk averted his gaze and stammered, "Uh, w-well, I don't know if you… you remember much from that night of Pidge?"

Lance paused, scooping another spoonful and munched thoughtfully. There had been Keith, one of the first people he saw when he got to the club with Shiro in tow. Immediately, they got into an argument about who-knows-what now and he vaguely remembered Shiro showing up later with two girls. He didn't so much as look their way when Keith had pissed him off one too many and they just challenged each other to a drinking contest. Inside, time flew and he remembered seeing a beautiful cute girl drinking with… them…

"No, it can't be—really?"

Hunk nodded, a smile tugging at his lips in amusement.

"Seriously? Really?"

Hunk lifted a brow.

"Jeezus, seriously?! That was Pidge?" he shook his head incredulously. "Holy shit, Hunk. No way in hell would I have ever known that was her." How come it took him this long to figure out that that girl was Pidge? Yeah, no, he'll never understand.

"Well, yeah, that was Pidge." Hunk reaffirmed. "But, I don't think they have any feelings… at least, I think they don't, to each other because I remember distinctly Keith with a girl that night."

Lance did a double take, glancing down at his food before glancing up at Hunk, twice. "Wait, what? Come at me with that again."

"Well," Hunk rubbed his neck and looked anywhere else but Lance. "Keith was making out with a girl near the end of the night. You and I got separated part way and I went to look for you and I found him with a girl. I asked him if he saw you. Remember? I told you about this like the next day." Hunk crossed his arms and looked questioningly and squinted.

"And did you see—wait, don't tell me. I don't want to know about his booty call." Low-key, Lance was trying not to be jealous that he got laid that night and he didn't. Who knew the guy had it in him? "But, what's that got to do with them liking each other?"

"Cause I saw him with another girl? That obviously wasn't Pidge?"

"So you think Keith doesn't have feelings for Pidge just because he met a girl that night? And that it's probably one-sided from Pidge's end?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying." He shook his head. "Look, I think if they were to gradually develop feelings, wouldn't it have shown up by now? I mean, Keith wouldn't be the one to be with someone if he didn't know who they were and Pidge's the same. And they acted—"

"No, they're not acting the same, Hunk, I am telling you right now; they are _not_ acting the same before we went to the nightclub."

He waited expectantly and chin lifted slightly in question. "Okay then. Tell me how they've been acting differently."

Lance smirked, ready to lay down the deets before Hunk changed his mind. "Okay, first, Pidge had been awol for a time after the nightclub. Remember those occasions where we'd stop by Pidge's and Allura's place for those late night study sessions during finals? Like it was a week or so before and Pidge wasn't anywhere to be seen. Allura had assumptions it was the library."

"Yeah? So? Pidge always kind of showed up and disappeared afterward with this look like, 'follow me and I will slaughter you' around that time, remember? So we assumed she found somewhere big enough to do her robot project."

"And Keith was always kind of—"

"Lance, I know you hate his guts, okay?"

Lance looked briefly offended, "Dude, you didn't even let me finish."

He leaned forward on the table, chin in the palm of his hand with his brow lifted again in skepticism.

"Hey, just because I hate his guts, doesn't mean I don't think him any less than who he is as to what we're majoring in."

Hunk's brow lifted higher.

"ANYWAY," Lance quickly finished the rest of his cereal. "Pidge was awol and then shit happened and I think Pidge and Keith stopped talking for awhile."

"How so?" Hunk wondered if it was best to go back to his computer.

"Well, normally, when they've been talking, they kinda have inside jokes sometimes, but lately, it hasn't been happening. They're not in sync like they used to be."

Hunk blinked. "Oh, I think I know what you mean now. Lately, they've been kinda off on our game nights and they usually kick our asses." He grimaced inwardly with a humorless smile.

"So, I think one of them or both of them realized they like each other—it _has_ to be. Otherwise, why are they acting like such morons?"

Hunk shot him a look. "They aren't morons and if Pidge were here, she'd kill you. Heck, both of them would."

"Well, they aren't, are they?" he said smugly.

"Lance, no," Hunk shaking his head nervously, suddenly realizing what Lance was planning to do.

"Lance, yes," Lance smirked. "I think I'm going to try to get the two pig-headed idiots together. Especially with Keith—dense as he is—I doubt he'd realize he likes Pidge in the first place without a kick or two. And since Pidge already likes Keith—which I totally think she does—it'll make this a whole lot easier to get them together."

"I don't know if this is a good idea," he shook his head. "You're just going off of assumptions and possible guesses without even finding out the truth of the situation. Dude, like, what if Pidge has a boyfriend already and—"

"Boyfriend? Wouldn't she have told us if that's the case?" Lance lifted a brow and rose from the table to rinse the empty bowl.

"No, I meant if she liked someone else or—I don't know—she actually doesn't like Keith, but is just looking at him and wanting him to forgive her for something or vice versa."

He finished rinsing the bowl and set it to dry before returning to the table. "I highly doubt that, but fine, if you say it is, then I'll hold off on it. _For now._ But, in the meantime, why don't _you_ find out for me whether or not they do or don't like each other?" He leaned back into his seat and crossed his arms.

"Wait, what? You want me to do _what_?" It was Hunk's turn to do a double take, blinking. "Why me?"

"Cause you're the one insisting that they don't like each other when they totally do," he said smugly, waiting expectantly for Hunk to say something otherwise.

"Dude," he held out both of his hands toward the other. "I am _not_ going to mess with our best friend's love life, okay? Remember the last time we did that, hm? Remember? Pidge ignored us for three weeks before Allura had to intervene. I don't know if she truly forgave us for that."

Lance recalled a time back when they had just started at Altea Uni, and there was a boy that had piqued Pidge's interest. He thought it was a good idea to try and get them set up on a date. But, after a series of conversations and a date that ended nicely when he and Hunk had worked together to do so, he was surprised to hear an angry voicemail that ended abruptly. In short, she had stated that he wasn't who she thought he was and she didn't want another date again. There was no clear answer on her part of what happened, but he could guess when he saw the guy sporting a black eye in class the next week.

"But, this is Keith. As crappy as I think his personality is, I think he's good with Pidge—I'll admit that much," Lance raised his hands in defeat. "He's better than most of the guys we've seen. Better him than some other dude."

Hunk sighed. "Alright, fine—I'll go find out whether or not either of them holds any kind of feelings for each other and then—only then, Lance! Seriously, okay?—will you do anything about it. Got it?"

Lance grinned. "Of course! But, how 'bout I talk to Pidge and you talk to Keith for me?"

The big guy groaned and Lance knew he had won this battle. Whatever the case was, he was going to set up the two idiots together and they were going to thank him for it at the end of it all.

— x — x —

Pidge had found herself standing in front of his apartment for the first time in what felt like weeks. The lights were off and she knew he wasn't home. It was a debate on whether or not she waited outside of his apartment or she headed inside and waited. For the first time, the key that Keith had given her was burning a hole in her pocket and she wished she wasn't here under such circumstances. She didn't want to tell him in such a private and intimate space where she had once been in every part of his apartment for a whole two weeks.

But she had to talk to him. According to Shiro, Keith had been picking up more hours during the summer vacation so he hadn't been as available as he would've been normally. His words backed up the sporadic text messages he sent to her during strange time intervals. Sometimes it took him seconds to respond, and others, it took him more than a few hours.

Pidge sat on the doorway steps, staring at the night sky and knew that it was probably better for her to head inside and wait. Moving to standing and her heart racing in her chest, thudding loudly in her ears, she slid the key into the door lock and headed inside. With the door closing behind her from the crickets, she was welcomed into the quiet and darkness of his apartment.

Flicking on the light, she observed the mess that littered the living room as it was covered with school work and project materials somewhat put together in an organizer box. Already, it felt like it's been too long since she's been in the apartment that it felt strange being back. Gripping the bag strap slung over her shoulders, she ventured into the apartment after sliding off her shoes.

The kitchen had dishes piled in the sink and some to-go boxes of food on the counter. The bedroom from her quick peek inside, was the same as it always was: somewhat neat with some clothes tossed awkwardly into the corner of the laundry hamper. Her skin warmed at the memory of her and Keith stumbling through his apartment after their night of gaming and nonsensical talking while drunk.

Her grip tightened when she remembered after talking, she had asked if it was alright for her to ask for a good night kiss before they went to sleep. Both of them were still too drunk for Keith to properly take her home and Pidge to even walk home without running into some trouble. Where that boldness came from, she didn't know, but she remembered she had expected him to say no.

But then he gave her one, a chaste one right on her forehead, and without any more words shared, as if to hide something, they lost themselves in the kisses that she had innocently asked for with her fingers burying themselves in the ebony locks.

Her hands went to her neck, where the marks had long since faded of the bites he had given her that night. Pidge headed back to the living room and sat down on the couch. Leaning back, she heaved a sigh at the memories of that night. It was hazy, yes, but she remembered most of it now. Funny as it was, she wondered why she had thought it was such a good idea to get dressed. Only remembering that she had been the more bold one and wanted to get more condoms. Hence why she was back in her clothes when she woke up. She fell asleep right after though and continued to wonder if he remembered as much as she did.

It was only a few hours later when she was woken by someone shaking her. Oh? When did she fall asleep?

"Mmm?" she blearily blinked awake to find Keith looking quizzically down at her.

He moved away when she shifted over, slowly waking up to remember where she was. Glancing at Keith, it looked like he was still wearing his work clothes that were covered in oil from what she could assume the garage. His hands were clean as if he just washed them.

She was about to open her mouth to greet him when instead he spoke curtly, "What are you doing here?"

Her eyes narrowed to match his and she rose to sit properly on the couch, her shoulders tense. "What do you mean?" She did not appreciate the accusatory tone.

Keith looked away and began to walk away.

Alright, seriously? Was he gonna actually start this?

"Keith, don't you dare walk away after spitting out something stupid like that," Pidge snapped.

He stopped moving.

"Explain yourself. Is there a reason why you're acting like I killed your pet plant?"

His shoulders were raised as she crossed her arms over her chest. She stood defiantly to face him, chin held up in order to try and match Keith's much taller stature. She missed him taking a breath to calm himself and the silent collecting of his composure.

"You're not supposed to be here," he reiterated. Keith turned his head to face her and the rest of his body slowly followed suit.

She scowled. "That's not answering the question. Why am I not supposed to be here?"

He ran a hand through his hair and took a step toward her. "You disappear from my apartment for weeks and you come back as though nothing had happened. Shouldn't I be the one that's pissed here?"

Neither of them was answering each other's questions. "Keith, I thought we were okay, I thought we were fine—the hell happened?"

Again, his gaze looked away from hers. Briefly, she caught a flash of emotion she wasn't sure she could identify. But then he returned his gaze to her. "Look, you're not supposed to be here, alright?"

"Keith, why not? Why aren't you listening to me?"

He had taken another step. "I'm listening right now, aren't I?"

"You're not listening at all, no matter how much you say you are," Pidge retorted. She came here with the intention of telling him that she was pregnant, but under these circumstances, she didn't want to. The fear of rejection grew higher the longer she stayed in his presence, in his living room, in his apartment where she was reminded of the precious time they had spent together.

What a crap time to remember her feelings for him and what's more, she didn't want to destroy the wall he had built in the first place that had established them as friends.

"Then what do you want? Why are you even here?"

The feeling that she was not welcome was prevalent and she's never felt so rejected by Keith before. It was a silent rejection that she hadn't wanted, but received anyway. The idea of telling him now disappeared and the hurt exploded from within her chest. Instead of allowing the hurt burn her eyes with tears, she stood her ground and fought them. If he didn't want her here, then she was going to give him that wish that she wouldn't return here ever again.

"Okay, fine, you don't want me here," she dug into her pocket for the key she had used to come inside. "I wanted to just hang out with you like we used to because jeezus, I missed talking to one of my best friend's." Which could be nothing and anything.

He winced.

"Which, I guess, means nothing to you." She walked up to him and focused only on what she wanted to do without letting him have an opportunity to speak.

"Wait, Pidge—"

Taking his hand with an astonishing force that she missed the equally surprised expression, she near slammed the key into his hand. "Here," she restrained herself from snapping at him, "have your key back then." She released his hand and turned on her heel. Grabbing one shoe and sliding it on with the next one following promptly after, she said, "Don't worry, I won't be coming back to your apartment."

Her hand on the door, she finally looked up at him with a hard look before it broke upon seeing the shocked countenance that mingled with a hurt she hadn't been expecting to see. Their eyes connected and she swallowed past the lump that formed in her throat. Her chest hurt so much she thought she was going to hurl and claw her heart out.

"You can keep pushing and pushing and eventually, even a tree will give, Keith. I'm done trying—it's clear that I'm not your best friend as much as I thought you were mine."

* * *

 **A/N** : Trying to catch up this story on here. But, as always, review if you can and let me know how you like it! Reviews are my best sources of motivation and again thank you for reading!


	7. Damaged

**Summary** :

Pidge and Keith are heartbroken in more ways than one, and yet...

 **Author's Note** :

Lol, it only gets worse from here on out. Brace yourself. It's a little jumpy this chapter and I apologize for that. Lots of perspectives to try and show you what's going on.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Damaged**

Keith had never felt more regret than the moment she walked out that door. No, more like, the moment she had given his key back. He honestly hadn't been expecting it. He didn't have the heart or the strength to even go after her. And now, after having washed up and satisfied his initial hunger, he headed to bed.

There, he stared at the key where he had set it on the nightstand. He had wanted to talk to her about their relationship and try to understand and maybe even "fix" it. It was risky when she was with someone else, but he wanted clarification. He wanted to see if she would fumble and become as flustered as she did that night when she had asked—

He closed his eyes, wishing the burning and aching in his chest would stop. Turning in bed, he couldn't help putting on repeat her words when she stood at the doorway, looking measurably better and yet, still frail and pale that he wondered if she had truly gotten any better. No, she wasn't frail, by any means, but the fact she had a sickness that made her that weak in the first place made him remember that Pidge was still a girl. Her eyes when she was leaving was enough to leave a burn. Mutually shocked and hurt that she had to do what she did, and what's more, the resigned look on her face.

He had been the one to put that on her face.

Grunting in displeasure and wanting this pain to end, he rolled around in bed to try and find a comfortable position. He tossed and turned for a good hour or so before he gave up, sighing loudly in aggravation and throwing the covers off to make his way to the living room. However, just before leaving the bedroom, he turned his head to the nightstand where a certain hair clip still sat neatly in the drawer.

 _She's taken_ , he thought as he made his way over to it. _She was hurt; she was here to talk about something, but I didn't listen_. The thoughts ran even as his fingers scooped the delicate item into his hands. He sat heavily, twirling the hair clip between his fingers while the faint lighting from outside illuminated the flowers. Unlike the last time when he had held it in his hand, no memories from that night came to mind and instead, only the ones he remembered purposefully began to appear in the surface of his mind.

The moment he saw her and realized it was Pidge that night. When she turned to face him and smiled like she had not a care in the world. When he had nerves despite the influence of alcohol and leaned forward to ask her to dance moments before she said yes. And then when they were on the dance floor and suspicious men were eyeing her like a prize to be won rather than treated with respect. Rather than let them go anywhere near Pidge, he took the place of her protector and wrapped his arms around her to become aware that she's a slender, fully fledged girl.

And then he realized he was attracted.

Lifting the hair clip, he mused that her normally sporty and tomboyish attire had hidden her feminine charm that he normally was unfazed by with any other girl. That night, he vaguely remembered that he had simply asked if she was feeling alright. Her skin was flushed and she was constantly grinning from ear to ear with giggles in his ear that made his heart race.

And then she kissed him and it was if all of the restraints he didn't know he even had were off.

Keith sighed, twirling the hair clip again and flopped back onto his back to stare at the ceiling. He closed his eyes again, remembering how their first one was an awkward one and something he had to teach her how to kiss without the banging of their teeth. It was a delight to figure out that he had been her first just from how awkward her touch was and from her touch alone. Her small frame leaned into him and he drank every touch and every heavy sigh in.

What he hated was that he couldn't remember what went passed the moment they had entered his apartment. Vaguely, he recalled idle conversations and gaming with some light drinking sprinkled in between rounds. But he had recalled how she had asked for a good night kiss and he gave her one on her forehead. And then he had made the mistake of lowering his head to nearly rest his forehead against hers. Her fingers, soft and slim, touched his cheeks and then those kisses that came after were as natural as it was to breathe.

He opened his eyes again to the ceiling, slowly sitting up to look at the hair clip in his hand that would reflect the same hurt expression Pidge made when she was leaving.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry, but you can't just act like everything's the same when..."

There's an uncertainty that weighed heavily in his chest on why he felt so strongly about Pidge no longer being just Pidge. They shouldn't be alone together anymore when he harbored something possibly stronger than what he should feel for someone he considered one of his best friends. He wanted to respect the stranger that Pidge had said yes to, but he had to swallow the heat and anger that erupted at the idea that she belonged to anyone else but herself. However, he couldn't deny the annoyance he felt for the very mentioned idea that Pidge was dating someone.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed and set down the hair clip back down on the nightstand next to the key. He had work in the morning and he needed sleep. Rolling back into bed, he sighed and willed himself to sleep. Eventually, he finally fell into a dreamless and restless sleep.

— x — x —

Pidge returned back to the apartment she shared with Allura to find her curled up on the couch watching one of her television dramas that she had denied herself from watching due to school. She blinked when she noticed Pidge come in.

"Pidge," Allura sounded surprised and turned down the volume of the television. "What's wrong? You look even worse than earlier. Are you alright?" She rose from the couch to come over. She placed a hand on her forehead to gauge the temperature. "You don't seem to have a fever like before—"

"Allura."

"Yes?"

Pidge gave one long look at her best female friend's face and sighed, "I'm pregnant."

She made one of those awkward half-confused smiles. "Come again?"

Pidge lifted her gaze to the taller and sighed again. She took off the bag that was slung over her shoulders and dropped it gently to the floor by the couch. Might as well be out with the news. The sooner, the better, and with it revealed to Matt, it made telling Allura all the easier. And with how exhausted she felt after Keith's rejection and returning the key that she felt was the last remaining connection she had to their fragile relationship, she didn't have any energy left to spare for what Allura might view this. Albeit, she, sort of, already knew what she was going to say.

"Pidge, are you serious?"

Her voice came from behind her and Pidge trudged into the kitchen to grab a water bottle. Incredulity colored her tone and the slow building of anger that she could feel even as she uncapped the bottle and took a few sips. Three, two, one…

"Oh, for goodness sake, you aren't—Pidge! Don't just casually mention offhandedly something like that of such importance! What's more, you're pregnant? Weren't you careful? And how could you be so—"

Pidge gave it another three seconds after continuing to drink her water for Allura to realize the entirety of the statement alone.

"No, wait a minute." Allura paused, her eyes growing wide and the worry replaced the initial anger. "I—Pidge? You—You're pregnant with Keith's child?"

 _There it is_.

Pidge set down her water bottle, thirst satisfied, and slowly lifted her eyes to her and gave a weak shrug. "Yeah. Surprise?"

Allura took the last remaining space between them and hugged her.

"Allura! What are you doing?"

Allura squeezed, "Oh, Pidge, I'm so sorry for not realizing sooner." She pulled apart. "It'd explain why you were sick for the last few weeks."

Pidge withdrew from the embrace and walked over to the couch. Plopping herself down, she sighed. "Yeah, well, I just thought it was a really bad bug I caught from someone. There wasn't anything too strange about it and I was okay with most of it." She rubbed her face, feeling like she should just retire to bed.

Allura came over and sat down next to her, looking thoughtful. "Have you… what are you going to do? Have you told him?"

Pidge gave a pointed look in her direction. "You're the only one who knows right now, Allura, who the father is. Not even Matt knows, but I'm pretty sure he has an idea."

"Matt knows?" Her eyes grew wide.

Crossing her arms, Pidge curled herself deeper into the comforts of the couch. Closing her eyes, she heaved another slow breath. "Yeah, he knows. He didn't seem surprised though, but I'm not sure how or why he came to the conclusion he did about me."

Allura leaned back, their arms touching as she rested her other arm on the armrest. Pidge noted absently how easily Allura took this in strides. She was sure she was still absolutely peeved about her "careless" behavior, but there was little she could do now. That or she was seeing just how terrible she felt and the urge to want to cry was as strong as the apartment they were in. Honestly, all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and never come out.

And yet, she was as hollow as her dry tears.

"Did you find out when you went to visit the doctor's the other day?" she asked softly. There was a change and Pidge recognized it as slowly understanding the pieces of the puzzle that she was giving her. Even if she never told Allura outright the things that happened, maybe it was obvious in her behavior.

Pulling off the faux glasses, she rubbed her face again and nodded. "Yeah, I—I found out then." She didn't elaborate. Instead of continuing, she rotated her body and leaned against Allura for comfort. She adjusted to let her head rest on her shoulder and without another word, she continued watching her drama. Allura tugged a navy blanket off of the edge of the couch and draped it over Pidge's shoulders. Cuddling close on the couch, Pidge fell asleep just shy of fifteen minutes later.

The next couple of days passed in a haze of sleep and movies. (As well as bingeing her favorite television shows that she had been missing out on.) And she'd always return to bed mentally exhausted and avoiding the issue that involved Keith. All of their pictures that they shared together were face down on her counter or taken off of her wall. She hated how she knew whenever she went to bed that he was there and that he didn't…

She paused.

When she was giving the key back, Keith had tried to stop her, but she hadn't listened. Glancing at her phone in thought, she hadn't seen a single text from him since. She squeaked in surprise when her phone vibrated, their group text blowing up. Raising a brow in question, she wondered how she'd miss all of these.

Lance (3:15 PM): Guys, guys, that new movie just came out.

Lance sent a picture. It was the movie poster of some kind of horror movie. Alright then. Pidge noted that he should know her by now that she doesn't do well since she just laughed at them… No, she was lying. As logical as she was, horror just wasn't her thing.

Lance (3:15 PM): We need to go.

Lance (3:15 PM): Like RIGHT now.

Hunk (3:15 PM): Dude, last minute much?

Allura (3:16 PM): I don't appreciate last minute plans, Lance.

Shiro (3:16 PM): It's not that bad. We have a few hours.

Shiro (3:16 PM): We can always plan for Saturday instead of today.

Lance (3:17 PM): You guys are joking right?

Lance (3:17 PM): It's like THE movie to watch. Wtf is wrong with you guys?

Pidge snickered. Leave it to the gang to make things feel like everything was normal again. She was beginning to type her reply when her heart stopped. She hated herself when she saw his name pop up because her heart still stupidly raced. God, this sucked.

Keith (3:18 PM): Maybe something's wrong with you and your last minute plans.

Matt (3:18 PM): It's not THAT bad guys.

Shiro (3:18 PM): We'll just do it for tomorrow night instead, alright?

Hunk (3:18 PM): And here I was hoping I could do a cookout tomorrow.

Matt (3:19 PM): Hunk, can't we just have that before we go to the movies?

Hunk (3:19 PM): Oh.

Hunk (3:19 PM): I knew that.

Pidge couldn't help but laugh.

Me (3:19 PM): I'm down for whatever guys and it's summer vacation so none of you should have any excuses on why we CAN'T go watch this movie.

Me (3:19 PM): Today or tomorrow or whatever.

Allura (3:19 PM): I can do tomorrow at least. It'll give me time to finish things tonight and free it up for tomorrow.

Pidge glanced up from her phone, remembering that Allura said she had some work-related thing in her dad's company. Being groomed to become the next CEO was taxing and she was often away during the day. Though, she couldn't help but smirk at Allura for texting at work.

Shiro (3:20 PM): Allura, aren't you working right now?

Lance (3:20 PM): NA NA NA, NONE OF THAT!

Lance (3:20 PM): We're doing the movie tomorrow at 10:30 okay? I got us all tickets.

Matt (3:21 PM): Lance, excited much?

Keith (3:21 PM): He's always excited.

Hunk (3:21 PM): Then I can expect you guys for dinner before we go then! (:

Pidge wondered if it was a good idea. Lately, the foods she's been eating weren't settling that well in her stomach. Still, it was worth a shot. Anything Hunk made was usually delicious. If she couldn't eat anything of Hunk's, then she knew that her appetite is changing because of the pregnancy.

Shiro (3:22 PM): So we'll head to Hunk's for dinner around five and head to the movies around ten. Everyone agree?

Lance (3:22 PM): Heck yes!

Hunk (3:22 PM): Yep. I'm excited to show you guys my new creations.

Keith (3:23 PM): Yeah.

Allura (3:23 PM): Sounds like a plan.

Me (3:23 PM): I'm excited so heck yeah!

Matt (3:23 PM): I'm down.

Pidge watched the conversation change from the plans to the movie itself, where Lance began to spew non-stop comments about what the movie could hold. She rolled her eyes after she watched the trailer, feeling apprehensive about going at all. But Lance bought tickets and she wasn't one that was going to turn down a get together with the gang.

What dropped her stomach, however, was when Matt called her after their plans were set in stone.

"Hey Matt," she greeted and decided to get a snack. (Fruit was one that didn't get her sick yet.)

"Hey." There were some shuffling noises that sounded like he was juggling the phone and whatever he was doing. "I wanted to see if you'd come home tonight to visit the parents."

"Oh." Pidge hadn't even thought of how to tell her parents that she was… _pregnant_. She was worried about the idea that they'd be disappointed that their daughter "probably" made a mistake. If they were to find out that she had gotten pregnant on a drunken whim, then she'd heard no end of it. And it wouldn't just be the disappointment, it would be her future that they would be disappointed in her losing. She was only nineteen and she got pregnant. The very thought gave way to a pressure forming in her head.

"I hadn't—I don't know if I should tell them yet," Pidge admitted, rubbing a temple to alleviate the stress.

There was a pause and she could already see him thinking about the possible scenarios in which their parents would react. "Well, you're gonna have to tell them eventually. You might as well tell them before dad leaves again. The next trip is going to be a long one, you know?"

Pidge sighed, recalling her dad's frequent business trips to different labs that usually resulted in progress in the field he studied in. The next business trip was going to be an arduous one and entailed a long stay at the lab with very little visits home. Matt had said that this trip was going to be about a month long.

She rubbed her neck. "Well, I can come home tonight. Are you going to be there?" She didn't want to admit to Matt that she was afraid of telling such life-altering decisions alone. Heavy expectations began to weigh on her, reminding her of what had happened in high school and how she always strived to become a better and better. Taking a slow and even breath, she focused on his voice.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm helping Mom with some stuff before Dad needs to go."

Her free idling hand picked up a fork and a Tupperware full of cubed watermelon. After stabbing one with a fork and popping it in her mouth, she said, "Oh, good. How… how do you think they'll react, Matt?"

There was a small pause before he answered. "Well, I don't know, honestly. I'd like to think they'd react how I did."

Matt's was the ideal reaction. Pidge poked at another piece of watermelon and sighed. This was starting to stress her out more than she thought it would. But, better now and before her dad's next trip. Some of his business trips could meld into one and left little time for him to even come home for even months at a time. It'd be too late by then.

"Fine, I'll come. Grudgingly, Matt, grudgingly. I'm not even mentally prepared for this yet and it's only been a few days."

Pidge listened to her brother laugh and her glaring at the watermelon lessened considerably. While she didn't feel ready or at all comfortable with letting her parents know about the pregnancy, still, he was right. She needed to talk to her parents about this and maybe even try to figure out the best course of action. However, she wasn't sure if she wanted to keep the baby yet and that was an answer she wasn't even sure of how to reply. Did she want the child?

"Yeah… have you figured out whether or not you'll keep them… the kid?" The hesitation was enough for her to understand that he wasn't sure of how to address the baby. Heck, she wasn't sure when she had no idea if keeping or… the thought made her stomach churn.

But the answer was probably obvious. She had probably already known the moment she had received the news. However, the decision wasn't just hers… at least, not yet. For now, she'd leave the question unanswered.

"I don't know yet," she answered honestly, after a moment of deliberation. She kept stabbing her fork into her watermelon, unable to quench the uneasiness she felt toward the coming conversation with her parents.

"Okay." His easy answer didn't help, but it did help relax her some of the tension. Pidge just hoped that this coming evening wasn't going to be a disaster.

— x — x —

Just prior to going, she took a glance at herself in the mirror. Still no bump yet, but she can't help but touch her abdomen. It was… a life-changing decision. With a sigh, Pidge dressed comfortably, as she often did when she was visiting the parents. She wore one of those short sleeved jackets and a cami and sports shorts with leggings underneath. Wearing her sweatbands barely hid the bruise on her wrist, but it was enough to match the sporty look she was going for. She didn't want to draw more attention than necessary.

The night was harmless enough, talking and falling into their old habitual patterns that involved family updates and jabs at the other's expense. There was laughter too that it almost made Pidge forget the whole point of coming in the first place. It's only when they're all finished with dinner and settling down for the evening with some television and reading that she finally decided it'd be best to get this over with.

"Mom, dad?"

Her mom had just finished drying the dishes before she set down the towel. Pidge recognized the familiar signs of weariness from a long day and her dad set down the paper he was reading with a quirked brow. Both of them bore questioning looks when she didn't elaborate. She cast another glance in Matt's direction and he gave a reassuring smile.

Well, here goes nothing…

"Mom, dad, I have something I want to tell you," she began, fiddling with her fingers.

"Oh? What's wrong, sweetie?" her mother asked, moving from the table to head to sit on the couch with her dad.

Get this over with Pidge, she silently thought. From the corner of her eye, she could see Matt and he gave an encouraging nod. Bracing herself as she took a small breath, she returned her gaze to her parents.

"I'm pregnant."

There was a pause. A really long one as they exchanged looks and returned to looking at her. Matt set down the book he was holding and moved to stand near the couch.

"Pregnant…?" her mother finally spoke. There was a flicker of a vast amount of emotions that crossed her features. Pidge recognized it as a shock, disappointment, anger, and most of all, bewilderment. "But… you're only nineteen, Katie. How are you—"

"Mom, I am pregnant," Pidge emphasized, driving home the news that it was true. As much as she wished it wasn't, it was and there was nothing they could to change it. Her eyes flicked back to Matt and he only urged her to go on.

"Katie… We didn't even know you were dating," her dad spoke quietly, hands placed together. "You haven't…"

Colleen shook her head in disbelief.

"I know, and I thought I had been careful, but I wasn't so… Sorry." Pidge finally cast her gaze down, unable to face her parents as she poked at the hem of her sweater.

There was a long pause. "Katie, sweetie." She felt the couch next to her shift and her mom sat down next to her. Her hands were on her shoulders and she gave a squeeze and a hug. "I… As much as your father and I would like to be scolding you for—ah, well—this happening, whatever decision you decide to do with the baby, we'll support you."

Pidge looked up to see her mom smiling gently down at her and her father giving his own hesitant one. Her throat and chest felt tight and her eyes burned. She blinked the oncoming tears back, not willing to cry. Her parents accepted this with a surprising ease. In a way, she knew she was very fortunate.

"Have you decided if you are going to keep them?" She heard her dad ask and she looked up.

She shook her head. "I don't know yet—I haven't talked to the father about the fact I'm pregnant yet."

It's as if the room shifted and Matt frowned.

"Katie…" Her mom began.

"You haven't told him about the pregnancy yet? Aren't you dating this boy?" Sam asked with a frown that Pidge recognized to be an oncoming scowl.

Her hands tightened into fists. Now, this was the reaction she had been waiting for. What she didn't expect was the heat that curled into her chest. There was a judgment that she hadn't expected from her dad, but the assumption that she was his precious little girl flitted through her mind. Her gaze narrowed and she set her jaw as she braced herself for the incoming argument.

"No, I'm not." Pidge steeled herself. "But I've known him long enough that I trusted myself to him." That was true as the sun and moon in the sky. This much was clear.

He sighed and crossed his arms. "So, you haven't decided on whether or not to keep the child yet because you're waiting for the boy? And you're not even dating? Is he not responsible enough to care for the child?"

While their family wasn't by any means a conventional, still, old traditions died hard and this was no exception. If all else, Pidge knew that her dad at least wanted her dating seriously first before she would ever engage in such a relationship. She was never going to tell her family that this had happened when she had been under the influence of alcohol. Maybe Matt down the road, but she wasn't ever going to tell anyone else. Because as much as she would say that she had done it while drunk, she knew she still cared enough that she had done it with consent.

She had wanted it and no one was going to tell her otherwise.

"I just found out like three days ago, Dad," Pidge said. "This is a delicate conversation that I haven't been ready to talk about to him."

"When is a good time then, Katie?" His own gaze narrowed. "There isn't such thing as a 'good time.' You don't have time to dilly dally like are you are. Who's the father?"

"It's only been a week. I literally just found out a week or so ago. I haven't even wrapped my own head around it yet." She gritted her teeth. "I'm not going to tell you who the dad is until he himself knows."

"Sam…" She could hear a warning tone in her mom's voice. The scowl on her dad's face deepened.

"This is something you need to discuss with the father of the child you're carrying, Katie. You need to tell him ASAP so you can figure out what to do. You shouldn't need to handle this by yourself especially when it's a child. Is the father so irresponsible that he can't—"

"Samuel!" Her mom's voice was sharp but Pidge didn't look to see the expression on her face, only remaining steadfastly glaring at her dad.

She was clenching her hands so hard that when she stood up without a word, they were shaking. It was a miracle she was restraining her temper. Silently, she repeated the mantra in her head of "patience yields focus," something Shiro often said when he himself was under pressure, she took a shuddering deep breath. Pidge had respect for her family and right now, she could barely see the logic in the situation that her dad just wants to know who the father is. He wanted her to figure out what to do so that they could have a set plan. Not having one was as though she was flying in blind and at the very thought, Pidge tried to fight down the inward panic at the realization. So not the right time for that.

"He's not," she spoke with an even tone that she surprised herself. "Right now, I'm just trying to take this a day at a time until I feel ready to tell him. It's a huge thing to drop on his shoulders and it's not fair." Neither was it fair that she had gotten pregnant nor the fact she didn't want to be. But it was too late now to say anything about it. "And it's not fair to me either, but what the father and I want to do is up to us." She turned on her heel toward the door.

"And in the ways of how I decide to do it, is also up to me. If it means taking a little longer than I should with telling him the news, then so be it." She averted her gaze at the thought of telling Keith about her pregnancy. It would mean confronting her feelings and the tension that was between them. Especially after the disappointing conversation that she tried to have with Keith just a few days ago. "I know it sucks—I have this whole future ahead of me and I'm only nineteen, but the last thing I want is… this. I love you dad, mom, I do, but like you've told me before: trying to think logically is fine if it works for me. And it does and that's what I'm doing."

Her dad looked quiet, pensive and turned his head around to face the front of him. Since she had walked around him to head to the door, she didn't see his reaction or his expression. His shoulders lifted and dropped like he sighed. Standing by the door, Pidge stuffed her hands into her front pockets of her jacket.

Eyes shifted to her mom, watching as she stood and came over to hug her again. She stiffened under the embrace, not wanting to break down in the panic that she could feel was growing. Patting her mom's back, she sighed when she parted. Her voice was quiet when she spoke. "Katie, we're here for you, alright? Just… let your father sit on it for a bit. Please, understand he's doing this to protect you. What we're doing, is all to protect you."

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. After a moment, she swallowed past the lump that formed in her throat. "Yeah… I'll call you later."

Colleen nodded and parted, Matt following quickly after.

Despite Matt's quiet concern, Pidge had no energy to talk about what had just transpired. Instead, she just opted to walk home in silence. She thought about her conversation on repeat and tried to quell the feeling of panic that kept threatening to boil over.

— x — x —

Next day, Pidge slept in longer than she had anticipated that when Allura and Matt came in to wake her up for the gathering, she blearily stared at the clock after they left. It was nearing four in the afternoon. Normally, she was the type that didn't even sleep longer than eight hours, at most, but finding that she slept for nearly ten was astonishing. Part of her blamed her hormones and body undergoing the changes that came with the first trimester.

After washing up and showering, she felt refreshed enough to dress in the same jacket as yesterday with a pale green tank and leggings. Thankfully, her nausea had passed enough that she wasn't bedridden. (She wasn't sure why, but pregnancy was different for everyone.) She mused it was possible that she'd be sick again soon enough.

At the get-together, everyone showed up as expected and while she had braced herself for the initial awkwardness that was likely to be shared with Keith, she breathed a sigh of relief to find that there was no such thing. At least, at first she thought it was, but she found unable to entirely meet Keith's gaze whenever he caught her gaze. Seeing him so close made her chest ache and she avoided every chance she could to avoid just being in the same room alone.

"Pidge, you aren't wearing your glasses today, what's up?" Hunk asked, sitting down next to her after grabbing what Pidge could guess was his third plate.

She shrugged. "Didn't feel like it." Her fork poked at the chicken that was grilled to perfection and took small nibbles. She was relieved that she could at least eat something. Her eyes lifted to spot Keith and Lance talking to each other, obviously irritate

Hunk was eating slowly, watching her and she felt his gaze on her that she eventually gave up poking her chicken.

"Okay, what is it Hunk?"

"You seem tired, Pidge," he said softly, concern as obvious as a picture book. "Have you been getting enough sleep? Are you still sick with that flu that you got ways back?"

She sliced a piece of the chicken off, chewing on it in thought as the best way to answer this question. She never liked lying to her friends and she wasn't about to hide it from them while she tried to find a better way to talk to Keith about the pregnancy. (And probably their relationship.) Withholding was almost just as bad, but… she wasn't quite ready to talk about it either.

"Let's just say I'm not ready to talk about it, but I've just been thinking about and through some things." She shook her head with a sigh. "Don't worry too much," she said, turning to face Hunk with a small smile. "It'll be okay… eventually." She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving one of those reassuring smiles to help ease the concern.

But, judging from a moment of silence and his subtle squinting of his eyes, she knew this conversation wasn't over. His concern was palpable that Pidge resisted the urge to sigh in aggravation. There was a flare of irrationality that burned but she just withdrew her hand and continued to poke at her chicken. She managed to deflect Hunk's concern by bringing up the topic of the movie that was to come, unaware of the lingering gaze that Keith shot her way.

— x — x —

It was around nine when they decided to hop into Shiro's and Matt's cars to start heading to the theater. Keith was getting concessions that from the corner of his eye, he recognized the wary glances shot his way from Lance. He resisted the urge to snap at Lance and ask what was wrong since he had been doing that all night. Though, he noted absently that he had been shooting them at Hunk too…

"Hey, Keith."

Keith turned to face Hunk who came up beside him while they were in line for concessions. Well, half of them since Allura, Pidge, Lance, and Shiro went to get their seats, leaving Hunk and Keith to get refreshments. With Hunk having memorized their requests, Keith had been volunteered for by Shiro to help him in grabbing them for the rest of them. (He wondered if Lance had pulled in Shiro on whatever Lance and Hunk were planning.)

"What is it, Hunk?" he asked with a sigh. He knew he should've gone with them instead and made Lance do it if he had been so insistent that he needed to hang back with Hunk. Crossing his arms, his brow lifted expectantly.

"Ah, well," he scratched his cheek, averting his gaze briefly. "You see, I was wondering if something had happened to you and Pidge."

He stiffened and clenched his jaw. This wasn't what he wanted to talk about and had no intentions of telling anyone of this or the argument he had with her just a week ago. In fact, he didn't want to talk about this _ever._

"Why is that your concern?" he bit out, trying his best to hold back his immediate irritation. It's not Hunk's fault—it's this whole situation. He was having a bit of a tough time talking to the other and getting a moment alone so he could apologize for his behavior was made more difficult when Pidge kept avoiding him.

"Well," Hunk began and Keith could literally see him twiddling his thumbs without even looking as he stared resolutely forward at the menu of the concession stand. "Pidge hasn't been quite herself the last week and last we heard, she went over to your place. So… Uh… I was just wondering if something happened."

"You don't need to worry about it, Hunk."

"I kinda am regardless of what you say otherwise." His tone caught Keith by surprise, turning his head to face him. There was a frown overlayed the mild irritation he had to this conversation. He was protective. "You and Pidge used to be really close, like best friends cause she got you when none of us seemed to. Except for Shiro, but seriously. Pidge and you were like good friends. I mean we all are, but she got you. And you got her even if you didn't understand her like I do when she goes on her tangents."

Keith didn't like where this was going and he clenched his jaw.

"Okay, actually, to be honest, you guys haven't been normal for a while. It's like something froze you both over and you have been icy to each other for _weeks_. Lance has been saying some stupid things about this whole thing too and I just—"

"What's Lance saying now?"

Hunk blinked, caught off-guard from his growing rant of clarity. "Uh, he's saying that you or Pidge must've realized you had feelings for each other and are now having a difficult time of coping. I mean, it doesn't seem like you guys do."

Keith clenched his hands underneath his crossed arms and there was a heat that ate at him in his chest. Of course, Lance figured out that he had feelings for Pidge; of course he figured out that he had an argument with her when he thought that no one would notice; and of course, he'd notice that he—

He froze.

 _Fuck_ , that's not what he wanted to realize when he was standing here and talking to Hunk. But, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, he resisted the urge to facepalm. What a way to be slapped, metaphorically speaking.

Now, he wanted more than anything to go beat up Lance.

He'll never tell him that that he was right.

"But you know Lance. He says a lot of random stuff, but he's right you know. He's usually good about that stuff."

"Right… and what's he right about?" Keith asked tightly, taking a step forward in line as they began to move. He turned his head away to face forward.

"You and Pidge must've realized _something_ or had an argument to make you both so weird. Cause on game nights, you guys both normally kick me and Lance's butts when you team up, but lately, you've been avoiding each other whenever you can..." Hunk shook his head. "So, you can't blame me for being worried. Though, I can say it's nice beating you guys for a change." He flashed a smile that Keith couldn't return.

When he didn't respond right away, Hunk placed a hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head back to Hunk to watch a small smile in an effort to reassure him. "Keith, you know we're here for you right? For you and Pidge? We're your friends. If you guys are having trouble, we want to help you guys out."

He nodded but didn't say anything. He wasn't aware that the rift between him and Pidge was so obviously noticed by everyone in their group. He wondered if Shiro noticed because if he had, why hasn't he asked?

Replacing his realization once they were called to the concessions was a sense of longing and what he now recognized as heartache. He hadn't talked to Pidge in over a week since their argument. Whenever he caught her eye, she would look away. Whenever he tried to get her alone to talk, she'd excuse herself to leave the room. And whenever he texted her, he would get no response.

He had feelings for her and it was too late.

Because Pidge was with someone else and it wasn't him.

* * *

Phew, all caught up. Again, let me know how you like it and review if possible! If not, thanks for reading and have a lovely day, ok? c:


	8. Space

**Summary** :

Time for some fun!

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Space**

Being scared silly with the rest of her friends for the movie was perhaps what she needed to get out of the house and keep her mind off of Keith. It's only after when everyone was talking about the movie that—with surprising ease—she fell into step beside him as if they didn't ever have that argument.

"And that part where he shot out his hands and just scared the living daylights out of me—man, I thought I was going to die."

Keith chuckled. "They put in a lot of jump-scares in this one."

"But then after, why did the girl just go after him?" Pidge looked incredulously at him, demanding answers, and continued to rant about the individual scenes in the movie that either scared her or made her bewildered at the confusing actions of the main character when she got only a shrug in reply. What she failed to see was the fond expression that appeared instead of his typical indifference. "I mean, holy criminy, how did she just _go_ after him without thinking about the guy that's out there—oh, I don't know—murdering all of her friends?"

Her flailing arms and long-winded rant were making her feel better, she had to admit. Being passionate about tearing apart a movie always got her in a good mood. As fun as the movie was, she still had to say that it was great to be feeling a semblance of "normal" again after the last few weeks of continuous nausea.

Keith shrugged next to her. "We'll never know. But at least, if we were ever caught in such a situation, I imagine we'd be smart enough to get around that sort of thing, right?"

"Right! Exactly!" Her eyes lit up, agreeing with him by pointing a hand at him before facing forward when they got to the cars. "Using our heads for once when we really need it."

Matt lifted a brow and he turned to face her with his hand on the car door handle of the passenger side. "But would you be really reacting calmly in such a situation?"

Shiro leaned against the roof of the car, matching Matt's expression, but he became thoughtful. "I'd like to think they'd do a good job, Matt." His dark eyes glanced in Matt's direction. "After all, they're all adults now and are quite the little geniuses in their own right."

"But Shiro, it's a hypothetical situation and it's really hard to say how we'd react without the use of our imagination and the uses of 'what if's' that you don't know if it would apply to you or not in such a given situation." Pidge came around to her side of the car and opened it.

Seconds after she spoke, Keith crossed his arms. "Pidge, we _are_ talking hypothetically."

"Let's just say, we want to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt," Matt said, turning in his seat to face the pair in the back. "Giving us a fighting chance, so to speak, that we would do what defies the illogic of the movie and/or situation and we would counter with our own smarts."

Pidge shrugged and crossed her own arms in skepticism. "But would we? Would we really?"

"I'd like to think we would." Pidge glanced at Keith to note the wistful expression. "I mean, I don't know about you, but fighting back would be something I feel we would be able to do without a doubt. It's what we do best, right? We protect the people we care about."

After Shiro and Matt interjected a few more times of their thoughts on the idea, the drive home was filled with Shiro's and Matt's voices about another topic altogether. Eventually, Pidge resorted to her phone to occupy her idle time and found with surprise a text message waiting for her. She shot a glance at Keith and he simply gave a small awkward smile with a shrug before returning to his own phone.

Keith (12:32 AM): Sorry Pidge. I didn't mean to upset you last week.

She sighed. Forced to the confines of the small car and what would be a ride home, she supposed it's time to make up with Keith. While she was still confused by his behavior, she decided that if he confessed why he acted the way he did prior, she'd forgive him. (Honestly speaking, staying mad at him was near impossible.)

Me (12:35 AM): It's fine…

Me (12:35 AM): And I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to say those things to you.

Me (12:35 AM): but why'd you have such a stick up your ass?

She snickered when she watched his expression. He shot her a look that was a mix of irritation and … was that a pout?

Keith (12:35 AM): I was working on some things…

Keith (12:35 AM): I mean, you had your boyfriend, right? So wouldn't he get upset if you were alone with me at my place?

Pidge blinked. Faced Keith, back to her phone, and then back to Keith again. Was he…? He was as inexpressive as a rock and she couldn't get a read on him. Still, his respect for the once newfound relationship was admirable.

Me (12:36 AM): … I don't have a boyfriend anymore. We broke up.

Me (12:36 AM): Quite frankly, he's a creep. But it's really nice of you to be considerate of me like that. Thanks.

Me (12:36 AM): But you didn't have to be such an ass about it.

Keith (12:37 AM): Oh.

Keith (12:37 AM): … sorry.

Pidge glanced up again, looking to gauge Keith's expression and only found him staring out the window, his phone resting on his lap.

Me (12:42 AM): Hey, it's cool. We're cool, right?

From the corner of her eyes, Keith picked up his phone and with his lips pressed into a thin line, he typed something into his phone before locking it. Puzzled, Pidge wondered why he never looked her way.

Keith (12:43 AM): Yeah, we're cool.

They rode the rest of the way in silence that Pidge didn't have the energy to find out why he was so quiet. She figured when he was ready to talk, he'll talk. When they finally arrived home, Matt cheerfully commented on some gaming that Shiro and him needing to finish. It ended as peaceful as one would expect a night like this to end.

With the movie night a surprising success, it made the next week pass in a blur due to everyone's plans with other friends or other obligations. Most of her friends worked and then anyone else just simply became a vegetable on their couches. In Pidge's case, she became a vegetable on the couch. She was feeling better in a sense that she wasn't vomiting every other hour but she felt nauseous when she smelled certain smells like—oh, the horror!—chocolate. She remembered the moment of conflict for Allura: throwing it out or just hiding it from her so Pidge wouldn't suffer the wave of nausea from the smell. Fortunately, the chocolates were hidden away in Allura's room somewhere just so she couldn't even get the faintest whiff of it. Allura even went the extra mile by brushing her teeth prior to leaving her room should she partake in the now rare delicacy.

On occasion, Pidge and Keith exchanged a few texts here and there, but it was nowhere near the level of texting she once had with the aspiring pilot. Still, it was an improvement and she was relieved at all she managed to at all. Though, it was made easier by the rest of the group clamoring for more nonsense that they wanted something exciting to happen this summer instead of letting it go to waste.

July 20XX

Hunk (7:34 PM): Can someone please tell Lance to cool it?

Me (7:35 PM): Cool what? Is he cooking? AT LONG LAST?!

Lance (7:35 PM): First off, I know how to cook. Second, I'm not cooking. Third, I take offense to that Pidge!

Keith (7:36 PM): The world will end if you did.

Shiro (7:36 PM): What are you talking about Hunk?

Lance (7:36 PM): Keith, I resent that.

Keith (7:36 PM): Of course you do. You can't cook to save your life, I imagine.

Hunk (7:36 PM): Lance keeps talking about some kind of getaway is needed.

Hunk (7:36 PM): Like we have anywhere we can go...

Lance (7:37 PM): I CAN TOO

Lance (7:37 PM): Anyway, yes, I would like for us to go somewhere before we die again for school. You know, have a legit party or something and do what college kids do.

Allura (7:37 PM): That's a lovely idea!

Matt (7:37 PM): Honestly, I'd love it if we could all go somewhere for awhile.

Pidge wasn't sure if she wanted to or not. But maybe the change of scenery would help her gather some of the much-needed courage to tell Keith the news. She watched the texts fly by while watching her next television show. Allura should be coming home soon from her job and she was about to change for them to head out to grab some food when the topic of the conversation changed.

Allura (7:40 PM): Well, we could always go to my family's summer house for a few days. Does that sound like a plan?

And then the phone proceeded to explode with near instantaneous responses.

Matt (7:40 PM): Why am I not surprised?

Shiro (7:40 PM): Can we do that?

Hunk (7:40 PM): WHOA SUMMER HOUSE? FAMILY SUMMER HOUSE?

Lance (7:40 PM): LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S FREAKING GO

Allura (7:41 PM): Boys, boys, calm down.

Me (7:41 PM): Why is this such a surprise? I mean, it's Allura.

Keith (7:41 PM): I imagine the idea of going somewhere nice like a beach house is what's making them trip.

Lance (7:41 PM): Not so much as that but HOLY CRAP WE NEED TO GO

Lance (7:42 PM): where is it anyway?

Matt (7:42 PM): It's just neat we can go somewhere. I think that's what everyone is so psyched, Pidge.

Me (7:42 PM): I even know that dude.

Me (7:42 PM): Hell, I'm psyched!

Not a lie, she noted. Totally not one.

Hunk (7:43 PM): You're glued to your couch.

Me (7:43 PM): If you say that you're any different, you're a liar.

Shiro (7:43 PM): Okay, okay, guys: focus.

Allura (7:44 PM): I have to make a few calls first and then we can head down to the house. It's on a beach near here.

Shiro (7:44 PM): That sounds good. We'll take Matt's car and mine to carpool over.

Hunk (7:44 PM): Only need to spend a few hours in the car… cool. I'd rather that than a plane ride. But if you'll excuse me, I'll be sleeping the whole way.

Allura (7:45 PM): Oh, Hunk! It won't be that bad!

Allura (7:45 PM): I'll get that ready and I'll let you all know when we can all go!

It was about another two weeks after the conversation did Allura finally manage to snag the summer house by the beach. (It sometimes baffled Pidge to remember that she came from wealth; not like she was entirely unused to the idea due to her parents.)

And it had been nearly four weeks since she found out she was pregnant.

Sitting on her bed in her bedroom, Pidge grinned triumphantly at the packed suitcase, ready to go to the beach. Glancing at the clock, she had to say she made some good time as the blue digital face ticked 8:34 PM. That meant she could get to sleep earlier and rest up for the trip since she had the assumption the drive up would wreak havoc on her sleep schedule. Exhaustion was something she didn't want to make obvious least she'd snap someone's head off. Not to mention, being hormonal didn't help.

"Pidge, all set?"

Pidge glanced up to see Allura peek her head in from her room and her eyes were bright with excitement. She couldn't help but smile in return at her contagious energy. "Yeah, just about. I gotta pack the bathroom essentials when I get up but, all in all, I got everything ready and set to go."

Allura came into the room and placed her hands on her hips with a lifted brow. "You have your prescriptions?"

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I do—I'll be fine, Allura." She headed into her attached bathroom and organized her essentials while Allura followed her in. Leaning against the doorframe, the lifted brow still remained arched.

"Are you sure, Pidge?"

Her hands briefly stopped organizing before she resumed. "I'll be _fine_. Don't worry so much about me—it's almost weirding me out. I might be pregnant but I'm not in such a dire need of assistance that I need you to baby me."

Allura held her hands up in surrender. "Alright Pidge, alright. But let me worry about my best friend who's pregnant cause no one else is going to besides Matt." She crossed her arms, still leaning against the doorframe. "Have you talked to Keith yet?" Her voice softened that Pidge stilled.

"No, I haven't." With her bathroom skincare and necessary products organized and ready to be packed for the trip come morning, she sighed. "Look," she shook her head and faced Allura, "I'll tell him on the trip when I finally have some privacy. Lately, there hasn't been a whole lot of it."

Well, Keith had been busy working since it was summer vacation and it left little to no time at all for socialization. Dropping the bomb that she was pregnant wouldn't be very well received via text message or by phone so that was out—she needed to tell him in person. So not so much as a lack of privacy but so much as there wasn't time to. And _then_ the privacy issue happened for whenever they did have free time, it was always the group of them gaming together. What's more, she had been trying to figure out the best way to word the whole "Hey Keith, I'm pregnant" speech without feeling like it was an obligation or something forced.

Allura sighed, "Pidge… you're coming up on when there's no turning back. You need to discuss this carefully with Keith."

She lifted her hands to her abdomen to feel the hardened muscles that came from routine exercise and yet, still no bump. Her age, her life that she still had yet to explore and pave, and what it would mean to care for a child when she felt as though she was a child herself. It was a responsibility she _knew_ she couldn't just shirk off.

"I know, Allura, I know." The certainty that she had prior had suddenly dissipated and she wasn't sure anymore.

"It's not the end of the world if you talk about it with him, you know? He's a smart guy and you're smart Pidge. Whether you choose to keep it or not, we're with you, a hundred percent of the way."

Pidge nodded and let the comfort of Allura's words wash over her. The corners of her mouth curled, "Yeah, I know. I'll tell Keith on the trip. Promise." She lifted her gaze to Allura. "Even better, I'm going to tell him after we've settled down at the beach house."

Her best friend nodded slowly. "Good, that's what I'd like to hear." And then she grinned. "Alright, I'm heading to sleep so get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us."

Pidge nodded and watched Allura leave her room. Taking a breath, she gave another nod with a final look over of her packed clothing with a sense of satisfaction before retiring for the night.

The next morning and several long hours later, she felt the familiar nudgings of Lance in the seat next to her. "Pidge… Hey Pidge, are you asleep?"

She peeked open one eye and noted that the sun was rising. Matt glanced back at her in the rearview mirror and snickered. With a groan, she muttered, "Yes, Lance?"

"We're almost there—wake up!" He sounded as though he was trying to withhold his excitement.

With a sigh, she righted herself into her seat and leaned back with a yawn. At least she managed to sleep for _some_ of the car-ride. She could almost smell the ocean and to answer her silent question, Matt spoke. "Not long now—maybe another thirty or so minutes?"

"Awesome." Pidge yawned again before blinking bleary-eyed at her other best friend. "Lance, why are you looking at me like that?"

Lance was giving her one of those looks that she had seen once when he knew that she was either hiding something from him or when she obviously wasn't taking care of herself. In this instance, it was possible she was leaning toward the lack of care toward herself. She lifted a brow and waited expectantly with the crossing of her arms.

He crossed his own arms and leaned back in his seat. "You know, lately, you've been kind of… not very Pidge-like." If Lance was noticing something was off, something was obviously very off. After all, he had been the last to figure out that she was that girl that joined them at the nightclub that night. "More so since even I'm noticing."

Pidge averted her gaze. She wasn't sure if this was a conversation she was ready to have yet. "How so?" She still found herself asking.

From the corner of her eye, she could tell that Lance was thinking of a good way to word what he was about to say next. Instead, he said nothing for a long moment that she turned to face him. "Lance? Dude, what's up?"

"I heard you that night."

She stilled. No. No, no, no… that could mean a variety of things, but it couldn't be that night when Keith and she had that argument of her…

Shit.

"What night?"

Lance shot her a look. "Pidge, you and Keith argued and I heard it. I didn't hear all of it, but I heard enough of it to understand that Keith had been a major ass that night."

Pidge sighed, rubbing her temples as she tried to vaguely recall that night. She had been fighting nausea that came with the first trimester by then and was majorly hormonal that it bordered on unreasonable. He was an ass that night, yes, true, and Keith never did tell her what was eating him that had him ignore her. In fact, he had successfully deflected the conversation to the boyfriend she had recently just broken up with. She didn't want to bring this up to Keith because, like she had thought earlier when he was ready to talk, he'll talk.

"What else?"

Lance sighed this time. "I heard you had a boyfriend, but I don't think it was serious since you didn't even tell us. If it was serious, you would've told us so I just assumed you were doing something with those feelings."

She blinked. Feelings? "What feelings?"

He gave her another look, looking exasperated. "Seriously? Are we doing this? Jeezus. Alright, fine, Lance has to do everything since Hunk took too long anyway."

"What _are_ you talking about?" She shot Matt a glare when she could see him snickering. God, her brother was laughing at her for a conversation she knew he had no knowledge of and yet, seemed to have already understood something that she wasn't quite aware of.

"I assumed you and Keith had a falling out."

"A falling out," she repeated flatly. "Really."

"Yeah, I mean, you guys used to talk all the time and now it's like you guys barely even know each other." Lance shrugged. "What gives Pidge? Did it have to do with Keith being a moron that night? Cause if it is, I'll beat his ass."

She was about to comment on the topic when he continued.

"Keith's an awkward guy, but he's not one to do things without a reason, Pidge. Why he's such an ass then and whatever is happening now, has to have a reason. I might not be super smart like you and Hunk or Matt, but…" His voice softened and Pidge gripped her arms with her gaze locked on the seat in front of her. "I know Keith. He might have that stupid mullet and is just as stupid with that attitude of his, but he's my friend too. He's always doing something for a reason."

There was a long drawn out pause between them. She closed her eyes briefly before reopening, taking a deep breath along with it. Finally, when the car stopped at a red light, she murmured, "I know, Lance. Whenever he's ready…" _And when I'm ready_ , she added silently, "we're going to have a much-needed talk."

His hand patted her shoulder, turning her head to face him when Lance grinned. "Good! Whatever has been bothering the two of you, I know you guys will work it out. I mean, it's you and Keith!"

Pidge couldn't help but smile back.

He pulled his hand away and seemed thoughtful. "Now, the question I've been dying to ask is this…"

"Will I like what you're gonna ask me?"

"Maybe?"

"Lance."

"Well…" he dragged the single word longer than he should have with an exaggeration that Pidge recognized as a confident smugness. She squinted.

" _Lance_."

"Do you like Keith?" He rubbed his neck awkwardly, looking briefly away and back to her in between each blink. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but—" His continuing shifting eyes made Pidge want to strangle him. Maybe one day she'll kill Lance. Maybe _now_ she'll kill Lance because _what the actual fuck_. Seriously, how many curve balls was Lance gonna throw at her until he was satisfied?

"—I kinda figured you—"

"Lance."

"Yeah?" She flinched when she turned her head to face him, looking at the concern and hopeful gaze on his visage that her immediate humiliation for the given situation waned. Ugh, she didn't want to talk about a crush she had on Keith since it was unrequited. And having already discussed it with Allura was good enough for her. Still, there was this feeling that Lance was gonna try hooking her up with Keith and she had half the mind to end it before it started. She squinted again at her friend.

"If I did like Keith, I'm not going to do anything about it and don't plan to ever do anything about it. We're best friends, even when we're fighting." She recalled the argument a few weeks ago and while they were no longer outright ignoring each other, there were still feelings there that was left unsaid. Rubbing her face, she sighed. "But as of right now, our relationship is a bit iffy so I'd appreciate if you just… not stick your head in it."

Lance gave her a long look that the silence was a little overwhelming. She could see Matt shooting glances every so often in concern and surprise. This was a new topic, after all, and she hadn't even told him that she liked anyone since high school.

"Pidge, I'll try not to, but I can't give you my guarantee." He grinned and Pidge groaned.

Immediately, she had regrets about ever answering the question. Lance was grinning the whole ride to the beach house that when she stepped out of the car, she was relieved to see it had disappeared and was replaced by his normal one when he greeted the others from the other car. Allura and Coran came out of the house to greet everyone and she couldn't help the easy smile that came when she saw her.

"Pidge!" Allura greeted after she said hello to everyone else. She enveloped her in a hug. "Oh, I'm glad to see you've arrived in one piece." Her brow lifted when Pidge gave a pointed look. "What?"

"Lance knows in some way or something that thing I've mentioned to you before," she explained. Allura still looked confused, her brows furrowing in question. Waving a hand, she shook her head. "I'll explain later."

Allura gave a matching look, squinting before one of her brows lifted slowly. "Alright, but I expect a clear explanation than that vague one you just tried to shoot my way."

With the unpacking and settling into the spacious home, Pidge noted that it'd be pretty neat if she lived somewhere like this. The living room had sliding glass doors that went from one wall to the other, compacting to the side if they wanted a seamless view of the beach from inside the vaulted living room where it had enough seating to seat maybe sixteen people with two small coffee tables in front of the couches. There was a luxurious sized LED flat screen hung on the wall that Lance and Hunk were currently trying to hook up game consoles for when the night fell.

Coran and Shiro were in the kitchen that looked out over to the living room, the ceilings matching the living room where wooden beams could be seen with hanging ceiling fans of an even bigger fan. (It's the kind Pidge felt she'd see in tropical climates.) Next to the kitchen was the dining room where it stood next to the folding doors to the large patio that had a grill in place. Allura and Matt were prepping it for the festivities tonight that Pidge couldn't help but grin.

With everyone settled in (and they had a boisterous brunch that Allura had pizza delivered), everyone decided it was time for a swim on the beach.

And now, Pidge stood in her shared bedroom with Allura with a scowl at the swimming garment on her bed.

"Allura, you honestly expect me to wear _this_?" She picked it up and couldn't help sharpening her glare at the woman in question.

Allura smirked, "Oh ho? Too scandalous for you, Pidge?"

"It's not scandalous, it's ridiculous!" Pidge cried, looking at what was a near neon green colored bikini with the top bearing pale pink hibiscus motifs and a matching string, something she never once wore before.

"Oh, come on, it's time for a change from that old one piece you typically wear." Her friend crossed her arms over her chest. "Honestly, even that off occasion two piece set you wear is in almost just as bad of a condition as that one piece." She shook her head. "One of them made you look like a school kid and the other has holes in them! Holes!"

Pidge shrugged, never bothering to buy a new swimsuit since she never felt the need. More so especially since she'd rather focus on her inventions and robots than swimsuit shopping. But damn, she had forgotten Allura knew her well enough to get her right size.

"And besides, we have to look good on the beach if we're gonna beat the boys at volleyball."

Her eyes snapped to Allura. Oh, despite Pidge's short stature, the two of them made a devastating team when paired together. With the medicine and self-care that she had been administered (the fact she was near the end of the first trimester as well probably helped?), Pidge wasn't feeling nearly as sick as she once did. Her own research into pregnancies seemed to vary with each person and pregnancy so she had to chalk it up to luck and her genes that her first trimester wasn't as terrible as it could have been. So a game of volleyball didn't seem too out of the park for her. At least, one game anyway. She wasn't sure if she had the stamina for more than one.

"Okay, if it's a game of volleyball, I'm in. If anything, it'll just to be to beat the guys back into last week." She smirked, raising a brow, but then it faded somewhat. "But I probably could only go for one game." Trying to be realistic, she wondered if she'd last even one game. She was still recovering, after all.

Allura immediately nodded, "I understand. But, that doesn't mean you can't look good while doing it."

Pidge groaned as they (she begrudgingly) changed, preparing themselves for the remainder of the day to be spent on the beach.

— x — x —

Keith found himself sitting on the beach, wondering if the surf would be good enough for him to ride the waves. Absently observing everyone wore their swimming suits for a dip in the water, he rubbed at his neck when the only two girls in the group took their time getting ready to come out and join them. After he and Shiro had finished setting up the volleyball net and their makeshift court, the somewhat busy beach became slowly busier.

He noted that Lance was off chatting with a group of girls that had been walking by and Hunk was setting up their little-claimed area so that they could eat later and relax. With the net set up, Matt and Shiro were taking turns tossing the ball back and forth for a warm up when whistles from complete strangers caught their attention.

Never once had he seen Shiro turn so red so quickly before.

His eyes followed Shiro's line of sight to spot Allura with a bag slung over her shoulders with a halter piece top and a sheer tropical print wrap around her hips and Pidge…

He stiffened and couldn't help the prickling of heat grow on his face at the sight of her skin exposure in a bikini he had never seen her wear before.

Her long hair was loosely braided down her back with black aviator sunglasses and wore a large sun hat that was probably borrowed from Allura. Slender but with a toned physique, he could see the muscle definition from her years when she ran track in high school and the self-defense classes of krav maga and taekwondo. (A little fun tidbit he learned when Pidge mentioned she could probably take down people twice her size.) But, what caught his attention was the sheer expanse of the skin of her abdomen, arms, legs, and her chest that caused him to deepen his blush.

Her modestly sized breasts and curves were accented by the bikini and he couldn't stop from giving her a very long look over. She was… very attractive and he suddenly thought a swim in the sea wouldn't be too bad before a game of volleyball. Feelings were muddled with his growing desire for her and he had a hard time differentiating from affection and the growing stupid lust for her. However, he wasn't allowed to be left to his own devices for either thought or swim when Lance went over to greet the girls. For some reason, this bothered him.

"Allura, Pidge! You've finally arrived—fashionably late, I might add," he said with a smirk.

"We were deciding on what to wear." Allura gave an airy shrug, setting down her bag down by the towels that Hunk and Keith had set up. "Coran will be down in a moment, so why don't we get ready for our game?"

"I'm not playing guys," Hunk stated. "I want to just sit here and enjoy the little snack I have whipped up for myself while I relax, thanks."

"So we're down a man to make even teams of two." Lance placed his hands on his hips, giving a pointed look at his friend who was already settling himself under the umbrella on the towels a bit of way away from the court.

"I can sit out," Shiro offered.

"But you won't get to play," Matt pointed out. "And you would—"

"He'd be cheating," Pidge said, shaking her head with a subtle pout. Out of everyone here, she was the smallest in the group and in instances like these, she was rather… particular about height. "He's tall, he's the fittest out of all of us here, and he's going to cream all of us in stamina alone if he plays."

"I say me and Keith are pretty close in stamina, Pidge," Lance lifted a brow with a mockingly hurt tone.

Keith noted the subtle change in her cheeks, wondering if it was the heat getting to her or if it's because of Lance's words.

"Either way, I say Shiro can be the referee." Keith shook his head. "He'd actually fairly judge us if either side scored a point."

"I'm glad none of you have thought to ask me to be a referee," Allura said dryly.

"But you wanted to play, Allura," Pidge smirked, crossing her arms. "We all know you've been dying to play again since Keith and I kicked yours and Shiro's butts last year."

"And I will have my vengeance yet," she shot back, shooting a glare back at her friend with no heat behind it.

"But Shiro's not playing—how 'bout we pair up, Allura?" Matt grinned. "I'd love to kick my sister's butt at volleyball." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"I think we have our first match-up!" Lance sounded like an announcer and Shiro couldn't help a chuckle.

Keith tingled with awareness again when he realized he'd be teaming up with Pidge. She had always been his partner in sports, board games, and even video games. Whatever troubles they had, however, dissolved at the challenge in both of Allura's and Matt's voices.

"Bring it on," Pidge challenged. She turned to face Keith, "You ready?"

He smirked, crossing his arms, "Of course."

As they lathered on sunscreen on the court with stretches in between each shared bottle of sunscreen, Keith idly noted that if Hunk had wanted to play, Hunk and Lance would've probably been the other team to do well against him and Pidge. Still, they weren't playing against them and since they were against Allura and Matt, who had never really played volleyball together compared to how Pidge and Keith had, this game was in the bag. However, if it was Allura and Shiro… that might've been a challenge in itself since Allura and Shiro were dating. He wasn't stupid enough to know that a relationship dynamic changed when it involved feelings.

And that applied to him too.

While he was certain that his feelings for the girl that stood next to him would change if they were to be in a normal situation, he didn't want that to change when they had to compete. But, did he want it to? Yes, he did when he recalled the familiar heat and ache in his chest of how Pidge had been dating a person he didn't even know the name of. Even if it had been barely what she had said to be a week, still, to think he had lost her to someone else was beyond irritating.

His thoughts screeched to a halt when Pidge opted to wear a shredded t-shirt over her top with the bottom hem tied up just high enough that he could still see the fringes of her bikini top.

What he wouldn't give to pin Pidge to the sand and run his hands—

He shook his head, hoping it cleared some of the excitement at seeing Pidge in something different than her sportswear and perhaps even her typical tomboyish swimwear.

"You ready?" she asked and he nodded when they took their positions.

She aced first and _damn_ , he had forgotten what a strong arm she had when he watched Matt miss the first ball. With a high five, this began their streak with a strong beginning with each of Pidge's aces onto the other side. It was enough that Allura grinned a challenging glint in her eye when it switched over to her side to serve. Allura was strong too, but at the very last of her serves, Keith managed to dig and Pidge was there to spike it back down onto their court. Just like Keith, Matt dug for it and Allura, being taller than Pidge, was there to return it to their court.

Of their first two serves on each side, Pidge and Keith were winning by two points.

This continued for a good half hour of a rapid-paced game that by the end, he had worked up a sweat and was panting. The sun had shaded them for a good fifteen minutes in the beginning, but now it appeared the sun was in full reveal with no shade in sight. And then the game picked up the pace when Matt and Allura managed to pick up two more points, surprising both of them when their teamwork had worked out all of their kinks.

"We need to ace this next one or they'll win," Pidge said in between sets, taking a swig of water. Her eyes were focused on the water bottle in her hand, brows furrowed and her hands clenched tightly around the towel that Matt had handed her.

"Are you alright?" Allura asked with a raised brow.

Keith matched Allura's expression, raising his own brow, but not out of concern: he was confused. Why was—?

"I'm fine," Pidge said quickly, running a hand down her face. "After this next one, I think I'll sit out the rest of the day."

Now, he was confused and worried. "Pidge, you sure?" She should have recovered from the sickness she had a while ago, right?

"Yes, Keith," she started, looking up at him with a stern gaze. "And I'll be fine, don't worry. I just don't have the stamina like I used to. I was sick, remember? I'm still recovering."

He frowned. He wasn't sure if that was the case when Allura and Matt exchanged looks that they thought no one else would notice. There was something that Pidge, Allura, and Matt weren't saying and he didn't like it. Still, Keith's eyes never left Pidge and he looked for any clear signs that she was unwell since she had a tendency to lie about her general health.

The skin was flushed, but he could relate that to playing in the sun and working up a sweat in the heat. She wasn't any paler than what she would be on a daily basis and she seemed to be in clear control of herself unlike what she would be like if she were sleep deprived. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary…

Pidge took off her shirt to reapply her sunscreen and Keith suddenly was doing his best not to choke on his water in surprise. An image flashed through his mind, one he clearly knew was a fantasy and swallowed both it and his water down. He had to take a breath to try and forget the image of Pidge from that night, dressed like a beautiful doll that bore his marks of kisses all over her neck…

He threw the water bottle down onto his towel, "Alright, let's start the last round."

His sudden words seemed to have surprised his friends because they quickly tried to finish their drinks and get ready. Even though he could hear Lance muttering under his breath, he wanted to cool off. And, just as swift as his words, the game ended in a tie and with them resting up, Keith headed off for a swim. Hopefully, the cool water will calm the blood rushing through him.

It's perhaps after an hour of swimming, Lance and Hunk joining him briefly for some wakeboarding, did he finally return to the group at the beach towels. While he had been away, it looked like Coran was relaxing on the towels and was talking animatedly with Hunk about something to do with "goodies." But Pidge was nowhere to be seen and a part of him wondered where she went. Moving so that he grabbed his towel to dry off, he took a few steps back to stand off to the side and watched as Shiro, Matt, and Allura join in the conversation with Hunk and Coran in what sounded like excited plans for dinner.

"It looks like Pidge headed back," Lance said absently, scratching his head. Then he looked at Keith. "You know anything about that?"

He gave Lance a pointed look as if he knew what Pidge was thinking about. He didn't know much of anything about Pidge nowadays, and today was no exception. As conflicted as he felt about his feelings for her, part of him was relieved she wasn't here and the other part of him was worried she had gone off somewhere without someone knowing.

"You don't know where she went?" he asked, using the towel to try and dry off his hair.

Lance shrugged and a sly grin slowly appeared on his face. Keith knew that look: it was a look Lance got when he had an idea.

"What?" Keith snapped.

"Go and check on Pidge, Keith." He crossed his arms with a smug grin.

Keith was skeptical and was wary of answering. Why would Lance suggest—

"Dude," he rolled his eyes, "Pidge should be feeling a little better now that she's had some rest. Go check on her and bring her back so we can have dinner."

"Feeling better? Why—"

"Just go, jeezus!" Lance began to push Keith that he shrugged him off.

"Alright, alright!" He paused briefly from between where everyone else was and Lance and the house, looking back with a raised brow. With a wave, Lance gestured for him to get a move on, he promptly rolled his eyes and without another word, headed off up the beach back to the house.

Honestly, Lance could be annoying but today, he was suspiciously annoying rather than plainly. His behavior was dubious (he could guess he was probably interfering with something), but he wasn't sure why. Either way, maybe this was a good time for him and Pidge to hang out… just the two of them. At least, for a little while.

When he arrived, he found some towels rumpled on the lounge chairs on the patio with what looked to be Pidge's phone mixed in. Puzzled, Keith grabbed it and pressed on to investigate the rest of the house to find it absurdly quiet. Suddenly, his senses were working on overdrive and he heaved a slow breath. Taking off the towel from around his neck, he set it down on the back of a chair with her phone on the kitchen counter. Upon slow investigation, he noted that she wasn't anywhere on the first floor and the rest of the rooms were empty (more or less checked out to be clear).

Something felt off and he couldn't shake the feeling.

He assumed that she'd be in her shared room with Allura and was correct when he found the door ajar. Precariously entering the room, he spotted that the room was tidy aside from a few clothes set out on the bed. He was about to turn the corner to the bathroom when a hand grabbed him and yanked him into the closet.

Immediately, he reacted by grabbing the wrist and turning it to press it against their back so he pinned the other against the cramped and narrow space of the closet.

"Ow, Keith, chill!" came a rushed whisper.

His eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness of the closet, the white shutter style letting in enough light for him realize he was pinning Pidge to the wall. Immediately, he let go and she turned, rubbing her wrist. He ran a hand down his face before he opened his mouth to retort when she held a finger to her lips.

"I promise I'll explain," she whispered, pulling her hand away. He crouched somewhat just to hear her. "But I think someone else is in the house and I don't think they've left yet."

His eyes narrowed and he glanced out through the shutters. "If they haven't left, why wouldn't they have left when I came in?" There was no reason to ask about her phone when he knew he found it in the towels downstairs and away from her. He knew she couldn't get help with her phone so far away. There also wasn't the guarantee that any of their friends would pick up their phones when they were on a noisy beach with their phones either in their respective bags or on the table.

She shook her head and leaned close to him. "I don't know, but since I woke up from my nap… I haven't felt like I've been alone for some time." She shuddered and he wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, I have you covered," he murmured. A feeling that this invader had overstayed their welcome made him feel irritated and another emotion began to surge. It was unfamiliar, but all the same, he wished he had come sooner. "But, couldn't you take him down just fine by yourself?"

Her skin felt cool to the touch and he squeezed in reassurance when she gave a shuddering sigh. "I would've, but it didn't feel like one person was here, Keith…" Her voice was so soft, he could barely hear her.

He nodded, though he wasn't sure if she saw him. "Got it. Don't worry; you've got me now. Come on, let's see if they've left before everyone else gets back."

Keith waited for her to nod and when she did, he took another glance out of the shutters. He almost stopped breathing when the door he had opened just earlier hit the wall. Immediately, Pidge tucked herself closer to him and he steadied his breathing by slowly withdrawing his arm to brace himself. He could hear her do the same as they prepared themselves to attack. He could see their shadow on the floor as they entered the room but stopped when a voice filtered up the stairs.

"Pidge? Keith? Are you guys here?"

His eyes shot to Pidge, eyes widening when they recognized Allura's voice.

* * *

As always, thanks for reading and hope you have a nice day!


	9. Just A Word

**Summary** :

Pidge was given a promise.

* * *

 **Chapter 9** : Just a Word.

Pidge, with Keith, watched as the shadow retreated from view. She waited with bated breath for them to come back, but there was nothing but silence that waited for them. Along with the intruder, it sounded like even Allura had left the house when there nothing else to be heard. Just to be safe, they waited another few minutes before she even dared to speak.

"I think he's gone," she croaked in a strangled whisper.

While Keith didn't respond, she followed his lead out of the closet when he pushed the doors open. After the coast was clear, he offered a hand. Taking it, he tugged her to her feet and she fumbled. Her legs felt like jelly; relieved she had someone be there with her when she had a close call with something (or someone) so dangerous and that it had passed. The feeling only grew since she knew that Keith had been safe despite his search for her through the house.

She wrapped her arms around his torso when it felt as though her relief with the situation had taken away her ability to walk.

"Thanks, Keith," she murmured against his skin, her face pressed against his chest.

She didn't know she was shaking until Keith's voice was a quiet whisper. "Pidge? Pidge, hey." He tugged her arms from around him to hold them in his hands. "Hey, he's gone so we're…" His voice trailed off and he frowned, "... Pidge?"

"They could've got you."

The moment the words came out, she realized how true it was… how terrifying it was. Her heart ached at the idea of Keith getting hurt because of her. He had ventured through the house looking for her, without knowing where the intruders were and when they could've attacked Keith. The very thought sent cold chills through her; a fear that something could have happened and yet, the rational side of her believed he could've handled himself just well enough until she stopped being a chicken or when the others came back.

His hands squeezed hers and her gaze shot up to his blue-grey ones that were warm with an emotion that she couldn't stop the strange but delightful feeling of warmth spreading from her chest.

"But he didn't," he said, his voice sounding softer than she had ever heard him before. A hand came to her cheek that she felt the back of his fingers caress it. She sighed, leaning slightly into his touch that his hand stilled.

"I know you could've probably handled yourself if you were to, you know, engage the person that was here, but…" She bit her lower lip. "Our friends were on the beach and it's only me here and I was hiding in a stupid closet." The feeling of sudden frustration welled up inside her. The chilling trepidation of being watched, of her place of stay being invaded when she should've prepared herself to fight, and being uselessly hiding in a closet when she could've not made Keith or anyone else worry about what was happening.

"So if something happened to you, I wouldn't have found out until I finally came out of the closet or…" she trailed off, her eyes dropping to her hands that were enveloped in Keith's.

She felt exposed and was being forced to be rubbed raw of emotions that came from the danger that was slowly leaving her system. But she needed to talk about this, to let Keith know how important he was to her.

There was a moment that passed between them before he finally spoke.

"Pidge."

His voice was low and firm that she almost winced. When she didn't look up, she felt his hand move from her cheek to her chin, angling her head up to face him.

"Hey, you were scared; that's okay," he said. But he gave a small reassuring smile. "Knowing you, I think you would've figured something out. You're resourceful and a force to be reckoned with that I almost feel sorry for anyone who gets in your way."

She gave a nod, thinking to how just moments before Keith had entered the bedroom that she was gonna venture out to make her way to her friends. She nodded again, her eyes looking directly into Keith's with a smile.

"Yeah, I would've." Pidge paused, her smile fading when she realized his belief in her. Her heart was in her throat, feeling comforted by how much faith he had that she would've been great on her own. She blinked back what she could feel was tears. "Thanks."

There was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes and he dropped his hand from her chin. Still, the small smile remained. "Anytime, Pidge." And then he dropped his hand from hers altogether. He looked away, clearing his throat. "Well, we should go see everyone—I'm sure they're wondering where we are." Moving away, she reacted before she realized what she was doing.

Maybe...

She grabbed his wrist again and he stopped. Turning his head to face her, his brow rose in the silent inquiry before it shifted into subtle concern. His lips parted and before she could change her mind, she moved and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "No, really Keith, thanks," she whispered into his neck. "It… it means a lot."

He was quiet for a moment before his own arms wrapped themselves around her and his own face buried in her damp hair. He gave her a squeeze, feeling as though he needed the hug more than she might've. (But that would be hopeful thinking.) After a brief silence, he murmured, "No problem," and gave her another squeeze that she sighed.

He was warm and seemed to fit perfectly in her arms. He smelled like the ocean and his own unique scent that she found herself taking breaths. It was perhaps after a few minutes like that before she grew slowly aware of how much of skin she was touching.

Keith was bare-chested.

And she was only wearing a frigging towel that somehow—magically, she might add—stayed around her for the entire duration of the near confrontation. Though she was wearing her bikini underneath the towel, but still, it almost felt like she was as good as naked.

The familiar prickling of embarrassment flared at her cheeks that it spread to her neck and shoulders. She bit her lower lip when she could feel him nuzzle against her neck, unable to stop the shiver that elicited a sigh. He stiffened.

She was hesitant, unsure if she should move or if she should speak up. Instead, she felt him shift and her cheeks burned hotly when she found herself staring right into Keith's eyes. He rested his forehead against hers and images of _that night_ flashed through her mind of him doing the exact same thing.

Hope and affection fluttered in her chest and she wondered what he was going to do.

"Pidge… I…" he began, his voice low while he looked earnestly, almost pleadingly, for an answer to a question that was held on the tip of his tongue. And then he closed his eyes as if trying to focus when he took a ragged breath.

She waited for him to ask whatever it was he wanted to say. She hoped he couldn't feel her heart hammering hard in her chest or how warm she was becoming in their proximity. She hated to admit it, but she loved being enveloped in his arms: they were protective, warm, and strong. It made her stomach do strange flips and almost girlishly giddy that created goosebumps along her arms and neck. When she would look back on this, she'd only ever admitted to Keith that it was only he that made her feel so phenomenally out of herself.

The intimate moment was electrifying and Pidge placed a hand on his cheek, watching him when his eyes fluttered open and in turn, her own heart skipping when that intense gaze of his was focused on her.

She gave him a small smirk, unable to help the teasing tone in her voice that was in an effort to lighten the mood, "I'm not going anywhere since—you know—you're holding me, prisoner." She wished she could stop the rapid beating of her heart that was now pulsing in her ears and chest.

Keith seemed impassive before his gaze became lidded. His grip on her tightened and she fought the squeak that would make her sound too girlish and flushed. She wasn't sure if she regretted the words she had said when the next words that came from him did somersaults in her stomach.

"I don't plan on letting you go then."

 _Fuck_. That backfired and it just made her suddenly very turned on.

It didn't help that his serious tone did things to her heart that she didn't want to hope. Did he mean that? Did he truly mean that? But, she had already accepted that they would remain as friends. After all, he might simply be saying that in the moment and didn't mean it like she was assuming. After all, he made it clear that night.

So, it wasn't possible, right?

But her bruised heart wanted it to be. Oh, she wanted it. The little feminine traits she had always kept hidden seemed to make itself known when she was with Keith and she wondered where the hell did her fire go. It was still there, yes, but it burned differently when she was with him. It burned lower, more intense, and the fire was all-consuming.

And then Pidge stilled. He moved closer to her, his breath ghosting over her lips that she angled herself to receive it. She could taste his breath on hers and…

"Pidge! Keith! You guys here?"

This time, it was Shiro's voice that filtered up the stairs and she turned her head to face the doorway in panic and surprise. Even more when Keith pressed his lips to her neck, teeth grazing her skin that she couldn't help the delightful shiver that crawled in her spine. Her eyes flicked back to him when her hand shot to her neck and Keith smirked.

"Pidge! You in the room?" It sounded like Allura.

He set her down.

"Keith, what are you doing?" she whispered incredulously.

"Making a promise," he said and the smirk was gone. There was a spark of determination and resolution in his eyes that left her puzzled. What did that mean? But it softened and that same small smile appeared again, the backs of his fingers brushing her cheek. "It's a promise, Pidge."

"Promise? What promise are you making?" she asked quietly.

His mouth opened before he closed it, thinking against whatever it was he had been about to say with the shake of his head. Instead, he went with, "Allura will be here in a second… I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Pidge nodded, unsure of what had transpired to give Keith that look in his eyes or the kiss that he had pressed to her neck. She watched him hurry out of the room and several seconds later, she heard the surprised voice of Allura greeting him in the hall. With her distracted, she sighed and walked over to the bed and dropped herself down.

Closing her eyes, she felt the residual warmth of Keith's embrace comfort her that she just laid there. A promise? She wanted to press for the sake of clarity by what he could mean by that, but he seemed intent on not telling her.

With another sigh, she wondered what was going through his head to make him have such a face. Normally, she would be able to read him clear as day to know what was exactly going through his mind, but today, she had absolutely no idea.

The door clicked shut and a few moments later, there were two knocks that interrupted her thoughts and upon opening her eyes, she found Allura crouched by the bed facing her. She rested her arms on the bed with her chin on her forearms and gave an easy smile with the slightest tilt of her head. "You okay there, Pidge?"

She closed her eyes again. "Yeah, just… trying to focus my thoughts."

Her fair brow lifted in skepticism.

"Lance asked me on the car ride over if I liked Keith," Pidge stated plainly.

Allura's brows knitted together. "Oh."

"I told him I don't know how I felt and I'd appreciate it if he didn't get himself involved."

"And yet, he has, hasn't he." Allura sighed. "I figured as much since Lance had been delaying us from coming back into the house. Keith was gone a long time by the time we realized."

 _Oh, Pidge was going to kill Lance now_. She straightened herself up as Allura sat on the bed with her and crossed her legs. Adding that as a mental note, she continued, "Alright, I'm going to drop two bombs on you."

Allura squinted. "Oh? What sort of 'bombs' are you speaking of? Have you told Keith yet?"

Pidge shook her head slowly. "No, not yet, but… " How does one tell their best friend one exhilarating and exciting thing that happened with her stupid crush and the fact that something could have very well killed her in the same last hour? "Okay, you want good stuff or bad first?"

The fair-haired female lifted a brow in skepticism. "Well, out with the good first. I expect this to be good if you're so worked up over it."

"Well, something happened and it led to Keith basically in very close proximity to me for a duration of time. And then, we hugged each other and… he said he was making a promise. I'm not sure about what but he said he was making a promise."

Allura sat dumbfounded, blinking. "Excuse me? You… hugged each other? _That's_ good—Oh, I see." She smirked. "You liked hugging him, didn't you?"

Her face could not get any redder. "Allura!" And she promptly threw a pillow into the other's face.

She giggled. "Well, I find it quite adorable that you are essentially dying over a hug—"

"It wasn't just a hug though because he… uhh… let's just say after that was when he made a promise."

"And what's this promise that he speaks of?" She raised a brow and _damn_ , that smirk was still on her face. Part of her was too elated and hopeful to really care or think anything of the smug smirk, but she knew that it was without any real intent of further teasing beyond this moment.

Her question gave pause and she frowned. "I don't know, Allura, that's the problem. He said he was making one and I don't think it was him saying it to me, but rather to himself."

Allura smiled, seemingly thoughtful before she turned to her friend. "Well, I'm sure whatever it is, Keith will keep whatever the promise he made. Whether it's to himself or perhaps even to you." She moved to her bed and sat down next to her. Wrapping her arms around Pidge's shoulders, she grinned. "I'm so happy for you, Pidge, you finally managed to snag Keith, the wonder boy."

"Allura!" Pidge screeched, unable to fight the reddening of her cheeks and neck. She grabbed the other pillow and slammed it into her face. Unfortunately, her best friend was only laughing.

"Alright, alright, wonderful news aside—as much as I would love to continue gossiping about this—what's the bad news you spoke of? I'm quite… nervous to hear it." Allura grabbed the pillow and began to fluff it in her hands before setting it back next to Pidge.

"Well, remember how I told you I was going to come back here and sleep some more—which I did—well, I wound up waking up feeling like I was being watched." She gave an involuntary shudder.

Allura frowned, her eyes narrowing and her lips pressed into a thin line. There was something about that expression that their jovial mood became instantly somber. After all, this was her home and, just like Pidge, felt as though it had been violated.

"And?" she prompted.

"And… well, I went up to wash some of the sweat off of me and when I came out, I heard someone enter the house. At first, I thought it was you or one of the guys, but it wasn't because when I poked my head out of the room to see who it was that had come back, I didn't hear anyone. And then, like an idiot, I hid in the closet."

Pidge paused, letting Allura absorb this information. She was pulling that professional face of hers that meant business when she asked, "What else happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine like I said—I mean, as you can see—" Pidge gestured to herself, "I'm good. But I saw Keith come into the room and I dragged him in with me into the closet—"

Pidge watched with amusement when Allura's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. " _Oh_."

"And we watched the dude come in and leave when they heard you calling for our names downstairs."

Allura crossed her arms, looking deep in thought as she recalled just a bit ago. "I came in looking for you and found your phone on the table. Keith's towel was on the chair so I assumed you were both in the house… talking since you didn't answer."

Pidge dropped her gaze to her crossed ankles. How nice of her. It'd explain why Allura didn't press on into the house. But…

"Kind of… we were hiding in the closet and waited until the coast was clear. When we finally came out of the closet, we just stood there, talking about some stuff." She could feel the color returning to her cheeks. Damn. She had hoped she'd be more serious about this but found her body remembering the situation better than she wanted to.

Now it was Allura's turn to look amused. "Oh ho? From a dire situation to a good one, I hope?" Pidge could see that Allura was trying her best to remain humored by the story, but her mind was stuck on the fact that someone had entered their home unannounced. Allura didn't take too kindly to intruders in her home.

"Well, kind of," Pidge admitted. "But anyway, in retrospect of the given situation, I think that guy breaking in is more important than whatever…" she made a vague gesture with her hands, "... things that happened with Keith and me can wait until later. You need to go talk with Coran, right?"

Allura nodded, holding a hand to her chin. "Sorry Pidge, but yes, I do. I need to make sure the security on our home isn't… compromised. It's strange… we've never had anyone 'break in' before since everyone tends to keep to themselves here."

Pidge gave a weak shrug. "Sorry, Allura, I wish I could help but I didn't see the guy."

"It's quite alright, but, if you'll excuse me." Allura departed afterward with an impassive expression and Pidge sighed, running a hand down her face. The severity of the situation was hitting her but she hoped it was just some stupid teenager who thought breaking and entering was fun. But, she would have no idea until Allura's investigation was finished.

* * *

 **A/N** : Thank you, NaryCanary for beta'ing this chapter for me and I hope you've enjoyed reading this! c:


	10. Close

**Summary** :

A promise is only the beginning.

 **Author's Note** :

Close, oh  
Oh, so close, oh  
I want you close, ooh

Please leave your love and you can thank narycanary over at Tumblr for beta'ing this for me! c:  
Everyone, have a Happy Valentine's Day. As this is as happy as it can be heh.  
Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Close**.

Hours later, with the situation being handled by Allura and Coran, they broke it down to the rest of the group that they should be on their guard for the remaining duration of their trip.

While everyone had voiced concerns about the safety of their stay, they had agreed that they didn't want to waste the trip and would take precautionary measures should it happen again. The said precaution was that everyone would stick close together and be in pairs if they had to separate from the group.

Over those days, they each slowly relaxed and managed to have fun despite the worry. However, Coran made a promise that he would be the "chaperone" and "responsible adult" to take care of them. While they joked that they doubted those words, it still reassured them, and it was enough to ease them back into their vacation and enjoy it.

It was perhaps another two days into this routine that Pidge was paired up with Keith and they were heading down to the beach for a walk to look for some shells. Pidge knew that her mom would've wanted some as a souvenir. Matt had triumphantly stated that he had already found the perfect seashell to give her that it sparked a small competition among the siblings.

"You don't think Lance is doing anything weird lately, do you?" Keith asked when Pidge crouched down to look at some shells. Her gaze lifted from her hands to Keith, who trailed several feet behind her. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans, and his eyes were on the shores. "He's been… oddly not as annoying lately."

Pidge tilted her head before returning her attention to the seashells. Aside from the fact of what she told Lance on their way over to the beach house, there was nothing else to indicate that Lance was planning to do something.

No, wait, she took that back. Lance was always planning something but whether or not he'd let them in on his plans was her best guess. (Unlikely.)

Unsatisfied with any of the seashells she was looking at, she stood back up and dusted her hands off of sand to begin walking again.

With her hands behind her back, Pidge shrugged. "Honestly, Lance will do whatever the heck he wants and if that means he's a little less annoying—to you or to me or anyone—then that's pretty good. But, you're right though." She frowned. Lance usually liked to be nosey about all of their business, especially hers when it came to relationships, and surprisingly, he hadn't been as intrusive and nosey as he usually was. Though, she was outwardly relieved he wasn't nosey. She wasn't sure if she could handle Lance, Keith, her muddled feelings for Keith, and the news she had yet to give.

There was a pause that a breeze picked up and she continued to mull over how differently Lance had been acting lately. Warmth caressed her skin, and she lifted a hand to hold back one side of her hair. Man, back when she had short hair, she didn't care which direction her hair went in the wind. Part of her almost missed it.

Keith cleared his throat. "Well, if he's less annoying, then that's good for both of us and everyone else."

She glanced back, and Keith was rubbing his neck and staring determinedly at the ground.

Her brows knitted together. Now that they were alone again, maybe she can…

"Keith."

"Yeah?"

Watching his eyes slowly lift to look at hers had very nearly made her heart stop. (And suddenly, she wanted to die because what the heck was wrong with her?) She wasn't ready, not in the least, to have the conversation that she had been mindlessly rehearsing on repeat since she had been told the news. Instead, what came out of her mouth was the secondary curiosity that had been bubbling up inside of her since the moment he made it.

"What did you mean by 'making a promise,' Keith?"

His eyes went sharp and closed shortly after. She felt as though her heart was in her throat. Pidge watched him collect himself with a deep breath and opened his eyes again. "Pidge, can I ask you a question first before I tell you what it is?"

A curse word was immediately on a rapid repeat for several sharp and instantaneous seconds.

Not trusting herself to speak without sounding like an idiot, she nodded instead. Why was it that Keith was able to make her feel like stupid mush, she'll never know.

Keith took a step closer and pulled his hands out of his pocket. "What do you think of me?"

Oh god, please kill her now. Pidge was instantly grateful that the sun was setting. Otherwise, she was sure that Keith would be able to see how red her face was becoming. She could barely hear herself think, let alone even breathe, over the rush of blood in her ears and how fast her heart was beating. _No_ , she silently berated herself. Keith didn't think of her in that way.

They were friends. They were only just friends, and her chest hurt. It was a dull ache that slowly became more prominent. That's right. Keith wanted them to be friends. At least, that was how Pidge saw it. How could they be anything more when he had been adamant that he'd never…

She looked away, trying to collect her frazzled thoughts together to form a coherent sentence, and looked anywhere else that wasn't Keith.

It was almost cruel how he had asked her what she thought of him, and it was stupid of her to get hopeful when she knew from the very beginning that they couldn't be together. And yet, she couldn't help but want it.

Still, it didn't stop the words that she could already feel was forming.

Steeling herself, to resolve to speak as a friend should, just like he did.

"You're my _best friend_ , Keith," she said softly. "One of my very best friends so I think the world of you." She looked down at her hands and tried to keep herself focused from falling into the feelings that tightened in her chest. "You're smart, you're honestly pretty cool, and I think you're one of the greatest guys I know. And…" The emphasized word she felt was necessary to say was heavy in her chest. Saying it the first time hurt and she wondered how saying it a third time would be like.

Still, she lifted her eyes to face him and was startled to see a dark gleam in Keith's eyes. His eyes narrowed, and his hands balled into fists. Clasping her hands tightly behind her, she continued after taking a quick breath, "... and I'm proud to call you my friend. That's what I think of you."

What a liar.

She thought more of him than she thought of anyone else throughout her years of school, over any project, and of any problem she ever had before. Her heart broke saying such things and knowing that they could never be anything more than friends was more painful than she expected. Digging her nails into her wrist, she pulled her arms apart to begin walking away.

"Come on; I need to find a seashell better than Matt's—"

"You're lying, aren't you."

She whirled, turning to face him with her heart hammering hard in her chest and her ears. His voice was tinged with anger and hurt.

Wait, hurt? He's hurt by—how? Why?

Her mind was spinning. There was no way he'd be hurt by her words when he was the one that had wanted them to be friends in the first place.

He took a step closer. "Pidge, why are you lying?" He smiled darkly and shook his head. "I just asked for your honest opinion, and you give me that."

Anger lurched in her chest, her stomach, and warmed her skin. _What the fuck_?

Her eyes narrowed, and she set her jaw. "It wasn't _bullshit_ , if that's what you're asking for," she snapped. "And I was telling you what I thought of you."

"But you're lying about something—you always were a terrible liar when it came to talking to people."

"Why would I lie about thinking and saying that you're a great guy, Keith? Why would I lie that I think you're smart and that I think so highly of you? That I think your opinion is important to me and I value you as both a friend and partner when we work on projects together? Is there any valid reason as to why I would lie about that?" Her hands placed on her hips, and her lips pressed into a thin line.

She didn't want to argue with Keith again. She didn't want to when all she wanted was to simply tell Keith about the pregnancy and get it over with. She tried to move on from Keith since it felt apparent to her that it was such an unrequited crush. Pidge was starting to second-guess her decision to tell Keith at all.

"You think I don't know when you lie to me? You don't do it often, but when you do, you flinch Pidge." He placed a hand on his hip and ran a hand through his hair. "And you're lying to me, your so-called best friend. Stop. Lying."

 _Fuck it_. If Keith was going to be such an ass, _again_ , then he's going to get a reckoning.

"Okay, you moron, why the hell do you think I'm lying then? Hmm? Care to figure out the reason why?"

His expression became a blank slate. "Because we're pretending that night never happened."

It was almost as if Keith had physically punched her in the gut and took all of her air and anger with it. How did he reach such a conclusion? While he wasn't wrong, but to say that in the middle of this argument was ripping open a wound that she had thought healed.

Shaken, she could barely manage a bewildered, "What…?" It came out as a whisper, a wheeze, and she wanted nothing more than to be able to find her footing again so she could talk like a human being.

"We're pretending like that night never happened," he repeated, closing his eyes briefly. It was a momentary reprieve from the intense gaze, to give her a chance to breathe, but she found that it was short-lived since it was as if those eyes had her pinned in place and took her breath away again.

Her head spun, unable to comprehend how he had made such a leap in his thought process to reach that conclusion and took a few steps back in confusion. But he wasn't wrong. After all, it was that night that Pidge had felt as though whatever chance she had with Keith had gone for the brief moment she had him. Even when her skin became heated at remembering that night, she tried to fight down her illogical attraction that was going to make her heart burst for the sake of sanity.

 _Use logic, Pidge, logic_ , she thought, grasping at the barest of lifelines for her thoughts.

"How did you—Keith, what does that have to do with anything that we're talking about right now?" She was grabbing for straws, anything to make sense of the situation. "What does this have to do with that night to what I think of you and—"

"Because I said some things that night and the next day that contradicted each other." He was determined to speak, and he moved another few steps forward. "And I think you're lying to me because of what I've said." There was a sense of confidence in his words. "You're always careful, and you've always been super careful about feelings. So, honestly, I don't know if you feel the same as I do."

Feel? Pidge was having trouble focusing on logic now since it had flown straight out the window. He had to be playing a joke, but she knew better than to think that. Keith never openly joked during a serious conversation, and this had never felt more real. But it had to be one. Keith liking her? No, it honestly couldn't be right. He was the one that said he'd never see her more than just a friend. He was the one that said that—

"—You're lying," Pidge whispered before she even realized she had spoken at all.

His eyes widened, and then it quickly narrowed. "Why the hell would _I_ be lying to you when _you're_ the one who was lying first?"

She was shaking her head. "Because you were the one who said you wouldn't have—"

"And I was wrong, Pidge, I was wrong."

Someone, please let her figure out what the heck was happening because it shouldn't be happening to her right now. She was fighting desperately against her denial of the situation and the illogical side that wanted to say that Keith was wrong. He couldn't be in love with her; let alone even like her more than just a friend.

Unfortunately, her denial was stronger and was winning. After all those tears, nights spent mending her heart, and rethinking their conversation from that night; she had resigned herself to an unrequited crush that wouldn't ever be mutual. Keith, the boy that every girl she knew sought after, liking her was as near impossible as the sun ever meeting the moon. The likelihood of her ever ending up with him was not something she had ever hoped would be in her cards.

"No, you're not—we're just friends like you said," she reasoned, and suddenly her grip on her own hands disappeared when she couldn't stop the shaking. She stared down at her hands and clenched them together. "You said that you wouldn't ever—"

"Pidge."

"No! This is a joke, clearly. Haha, very funny." Pidge turned on her heel, already walking away from the conversation.

But his hand grabbed her arm.

"Pidge, that was then." He pulled her close, his voice urging her to face him. "Shit, do I honestly have to say everything?"

She turned her head. "No, you don't—"

"But I will if it means you'll understand me. I promised that I'd tell you this anyway so..."

He dropped his hand from her arm to take her hands into his, and he shifted until he stood in front of her. She both hated and liked that she was comforted by the rubbing of Keith's thumbs over her knuckles.

"I've… Honestly, I think I'm going to sound stupid while I talk about… uh, feelings and whatever, but, hear me out." He paused, looking at her with an expectant gaze. She managed a meek nod, and he made a small smile, his hard features softening as he continued to focus his attention on their hands. She didn't remember his hands being so calloused before. They were rough, warm, and larger than her own; she would later admit that she really liked his hands. It just went to show just how much work he had between his work in the garage and the work he did for school. It made the little calluses and scars on her hands feel insignificant in comparison.

He took a deep breath. "So, uh, a few weeks back, when things were a little rough between us, I started thinking about us." Keith squeezed her fingers. "And I didn't like how we argued over what felt like stupid things, and it kinda hit me when you gave me my apartment key back." His hands' warmth seemed to be warmer, and if it weren't for the setting sun dyeing him in its colors of oranges and reds, she wondered if he would be blushing. He gulped.

"I—I liked it when you had my key. It was weird, but in the short time we were together in my apartment, and I really liked it that we were in that same space together." He gave her hands another squeeze, and she managed to squeeze back. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, but Pidge heard it, and she could barely keep track of her feelings.

He paused, his brows knitted together in what looked to be a mix of emotions that she had never seen on Keith before. But, he was thorough with his words when he opened and closed his mouth several times in rapid succession; however, no sound came out. It was perhaps after she gave him another squeeze that he blinked.

Clearing his throat, he continued, "I was trying to figure out what was going on and I—I don't do feelings well, but for you, at least, I want to give them a try. I like being with you and I—," his voice became softer, quieter, and he took a small step forward until he was close enough for her to wrap her arms around him if she had wanted to, "—I want to be with you."

One of his hands had dropped hers, his fingertips trailing up her arm to her shoulder and neck until it came to a rest on her cheek. The back of his fingers caressed her cheek and Pidge was struggling with tearing her gaze away. A small smile was on his face, his expression full of warmth and affection that she wanted to remember this moment forever.

"I'm not sure I'm going to be a perfect boyfriend, but—"

She felt her tears fall before she even realized that she didn't want to and wanted to blink it back.

His mouth opened, his eyes widening in surprise. "I—I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking—do you—"

"Keith," she whispered, closing her eyes and leaned into the hand that was by her cheek. Dropping his other hand, her own lifted to hold onto his wrist. Beneath her fingertips, she could feel his rapidly beating pulse that she could only assume was a mix of concern, alarm, and nervousness.

Opening her eyes, he bit his lower lip. After a few seconds passed, he finally braved answering with an apprehensive, "Yeah?"

"You're an idiot," she said with a slow curl of her lips.

He blinked before he frowned. "Oh, um, do you not like me that way or have I just—"

Alarmed, her heart lurched when his expression shuttered, and she had never seen a more vulnerable Keith that she held onto his wrist when he started to pull away. He hesitated, and she squeezed his wrist. "No, Keith, I—I didn't mean to, but—yeah, I… I want to. To try, I mean."

His fingers moved down her cheek, and his upturned lips made it feel like her heart was going to burst. But the smile faded when he looked down. "I know I said some things that day that should've said it differently, but I didn't want to take advantage or make it seem like it was anything when we didn't even know what had happened."

Pidge bit her lip. She remembered most of the night, this much was true, but the one memory that was as elusive as a cloud was the phone call she made to Keith. He had picked up, and they had a full-on conversation for at least ten minutes.

"But you had friend-zoned me," she said. "I thought you didn't… wouldn't look at me like that."

His beautiful dark grey eyes lifted to hers, and his lips twitched in a half-smile. "Honestly, it just kind of hit me." He seemed distant, trying to gather his thoughts, and was contemplative. His hand stilled on her cheek, and he murmured, "I didn't think we'd ever change, but… when you came out of my room, dressed and with red marks all over your neck, I… I don't know."

"It's okay, we can figure it out together," Pidge assured. And then her smile grew, unable to stop herself from the teasing words. "So, I take it that you like me?"

Focusing his attention, he smirked. "Well, I like you enough that I want to do more than just..." His hand angled under her chin. Her eyes widened in surprise, lips parting in anticipation.

He began to lean down and was close enough that she felt his lips brush hers before a shout came in their direction.

"Look out!"

For the second time in the last few days, they're denied and pulled apart as a ball came flying toward them. It bounced through where they were standing. A guy jogged over as the ball rolled to a stop. He's dressed in a white tank and bright, colorfully printed shorts with dark skin and bleached blond hair.

"Hey, sorry about that," he said with a sheepish grin. "My friend over there is a crap shot so… sorry again."

"It's no problem," Pidge replied hastily.

Keith waved a hand, watching idly as the guy walked passed to retrieve the ball. Something about him felt familiar, and she wasn't sure why. It was only when he ran back to his friend and began to play their game again did Pidge finally say something. She wasn't sure if she was paranoid, but there was something that bothered her.

"Keith, that guy felt familiar—like I know him from somewhere," she admitted when he returned to her side.

He pressed his lips into a thin line and gave another quick glance in the guy's direction. There was a look in his eye, but he took her hand and tugged her to continue walking down the beach.

"Well, if he's a bad reminder, I'll be sure to beat him into, what do you say, 'into next week'?"

She snickered. "Okay, well, I can't say I remember enough to say that he deserves one of those quite yet, but please do. Though, if he is one, I'll gladly beat his ass first."

He winced. "Oh, that's right. You'd probably take him down faster than I could."

"Not entirely—I mean, in an ideal situation, I could, yeah, but stuff like that is rarely easy." She shrugged. "I don't do physical as well as you think I could be. But—" she dragged out the word longer than necessary when Keith lifted a brow, "I prefer brain power over brawn, so it works out."

Keith smirked.

They continued to chat while they walked up the beach, holding hands, and looking over the seashells that would be comparable to the seashell that Matt had bragged about. Pidge relished the feeling of Keith's hand in hers, gently leading her forward with an easy smile that made her heart feel like it would explode. They looked for seashells together and sparked a challenge for them to find the shell among themselves to make this quicker. It ended with them in the water, laughing, and could only stumble to the dry sand with the winning seashell in hand. (It was the size of Keith's hand, and it gleamed like a pearl under any sort of light.)

With the sun already set beyond the horizon, it was pitch black when they headed back. The moment their phones started going off, they exchanged looks before they broke off into a run. They ran up the back patio to where everyone was setting up plates for a barbeque and Pidge triumphantly waved a seashell in front of Matt, smirking when he dramatically cried his defeat.

It was when everyone was talking excitedly about the food did she realize that she hadn't told Keith about her pregnancy and the above the clouds sensation slowly pulled her back to solid ground.

Instead, she had delayed it. While it was beyond surprising to find out that Keith was as affectionate with her as she was with him, she wondered if pidge she would be taking it away just as quickly if she told him she was pregnant. Her chest ached, wondering if he'd reject her if he'd be like what her worst dreams had said over and over again.

But it's Keith. She wanted to believe in him, but something was holding her back. Trying to balance her emotions and rationality, she knew that it was possible that the burden of a child might very well ruin what development their relationship had.

— x — x —

Keith was on an all-time high and walked on cloud nine. He confessed his feelings and had very well nearly kissed her. He could've tried again, but it just didn't feel right after two different interruptions. The sun had set, and the breeze was gentle enough—and perfect—on their walk that talking about the promise that he had made to himself to confess very well worth it.

He had never felt more at ease.

While eating and feeling as though nothing could ever go wrong, he was surprised to glance over to Pidge and notice that she looked pale.

His heart lurched. Was she all right? She was fine when they had come into the house just short of thirty minutes ago.

Keith noticed the concern and hard lines in Matt's expression, his head dropping to talk with Pidge in a low tone. He couldn't hear over the music that played in the background and Hunk's and Lance's voices talking about something that had to do with the game they were to play tonight. Shiro was talking with Coran, and the overlapping voices made it difficult to make out what Matt said.

Maybe he was being paranoid. Maybe he was just overthinking that something had happened with Pidge. And _maybe_ he was just overly sensitive to the changes that he and Pidge were undergoing after their talk on the beach.

But he was worried.

Especially when even Allura made her way over to Pidge, and had that same look of concern on her face like Matt, he's concerned. He was sure Pidge could handle herself with whatever it was that was bothering her, he knew that when it came to her health—

He clenched his jaw. Could she have been lying about her health too?

He understood—with the subtle ache in his chest—why she had lied about her feelings. It was for the same exact reason why he hadn't acted until just a bit ago about his feelings for her. He was relieved that she hadn't said no and that she was kind enough that she was willing to give it—whatever this relationship of theirs was—a try. He didn't know if it was love or if it was just an infatuation, but he wanted to try.

His feelings for her was genuine—the origin of it was unknown, and he wasn't sure what to do with it. After all, he never had a proper girlfriend since high school, and even then, those girls had been mere moments of experimentation and genuine curiosity. Still, his feelings were new, and he'd like nothing more than to find out what they were with Pidge.

A hand was placed on his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Shiro regard him with a subtle lift of his brow. There was a silent question in his visage that Keith only nodded. It was minute, but he got the message and dropped his hand.

Returning his attention to the girl he tentatively could call his significant other, he noted the lack of food on her plate and how she only continued to drink water. He suppressed the urge to frown, or he'd draw attention to himself again. Recollecting how little she had eaten all day, it was unlikely that she would have had any snacks when they had been together all day with scarcely any food.

After downing the rest of the water in the bottle he held, he excused himself from the table and headed over to Pidge. When their eyes connected, she gave a weak smile. "Hey," she said with a small nod in his direction.

"Pidge, you're not eating—is something wrong?" he asked. He moved past her and picked up another water bottle that was in the cooler next to her and stood upright.

Without even looking, he could tell that she went still. Opening the water bottle, he took a small sip and waited after a gulp.

"I—I'm okay, Keith," she murmured.

He expected her to continue with her explanation, as she often did, but was surprised when she didn't.

When he turned to face her, a familiar angry heat curled in his chest and he squeezed the water bottle. She was averting her gaze away from him with a white-knuckled grip. No, she couldn't be. They literally just went over this.

"Pidge, what's going on?" he pressed.

She didn't answer for a moment, and she looked like she was having trouble putting words to her thoughts. "I'm not ready to talk about this."

It was as if she had punched him.

After taking a steadying breath, he spoke in a low tone, "Pidge, really, we're going there?"

Her eyes closed. "Please, Keith, I'm really not ready to talk about this."

Typically, he'd be okay with giving her the space that she asked for. Usually, he wouldn't be so quick to judge, but when they just had what he felt was a crucial moment that spoke about their feelings to each other and the effort to try their hand at a relationship, this was not a way for them to start it. It didn't help that his temper had a tendency of making him hyper-focused rather than let him be able to think things through with a clear head.

"Then when would you be ready?"

Her eyelids snapped open, and her eyes were flashing when her lipsset into a hard line. "Oh, like when you said you'd be ready to talk about why you ignored me for a week? Over something like focusing on yourself?"

The words were sharp, and he flinched. He immediately recalled that night in greater detail than he had expected. He didn't think she remembered or held a grudge over something as insignificant as that. But he was wrong, and it was too late to back out of this argument. (Not that he could entirely comprehend it when he was as irritated as he was.)

"So you're saying because _I_ didn't tell you about what _that_ was about, _you're_ not going to tell me what _this_ is about?"

He wasn't paying attention to anyone else but Pidge that he didn't notice how their friends had silenced their conversations. The only sounds that were in the room were the music that played in the background. Their voices had raised to the point that everyone could hear their conversation.

"Yes, Keith, so leave it be," she snapped. She turned and tried to end the conversation by storming off.

Keith took longer steps and grabbed her arm. "No, I won't because that week, I was trying to figure out what the hell I was feeling for you. You can't expect me to know, right off the bat, what it was when I just told you that it took me awhile to figure it out."

She wrenched her arm out of his grasp and was immediately facing him with a matching scowl. "Then you need to give me the same amount of space I gave you. Don't just demand to know when—"

"But you're lying again. You're not really okay like you say you are because don't think for a second that I didn't notice how both Matt and Allura came to you, asking if you were okay."

"Guys…" Shiro stood up, but both of them weren't listening.

"Ha, and you were watching me, why? Do I need to tell you whether or not I'm doing okay when I said I was fine? No, I don't because I don't need a babysitter."

"I'm not trying to be and don't go putting words in my mouth! I was only asking because you tend pushing yourself when you really aren't feeling better." His anger was as hot as it was painful to be talking like this, to her, and the feeling was only worsening with every word that left his mouth.

Her hands lifted and Pidge cried out in frustration. "Stop assuming that I'm just going to always lie about how I'm feeling! Only I know how I'm feeling! Only _I_ know whether or not that I'm feeling okay!" She placed her hands on her chest. "I am my own person, Keith, so stop making it sound like you know me better when no one else can know me better than I know myself!"

Keith ran a hand aggressively through his hair. "For fuck's sake, I never said I knew you better than you knew yourself! I _just_ said you have a tendency, Pidge, that's all!"

"Then leave me alone! Just leave me be!"

"No, I won't," he said through gritted teeth. "If I leave you alone, then you'll _never_ tell me what was wrong."

"Seriously, guys—" Lance took a step forward.

"Ugh, _this_ is why I didn't want to talk about this with you. Not until I knew what the hell was the right words to say because you'd either blow up like this or you'd just ignore me like you did that week when I didn't even do anything! And you literally just shut me out!"

Pidge was on a roll. Taking one step forward, she jabbed a finger against his chest with an angry fire in her eyes. Her words were hurting him more than the poking finger was.

"I didn't—"

"No, don't deny it," she cut in. "You _always_ shut people out when we want to be there for you. Whether it's even Shiro or me—you just cut people off when it suits you just fine without any sort of consideration to anyone else!"

Another jab of her finger when Keith opened his mouth to speak, to defend himself. "Have you ever considered why I do that?"

"But you just shut down, Keith! You don't even _try_ with any of us!"

It was another verbal slap, and the anger was boiling over for both of them. "And how would you know whether or not I'm trying? We just—"

"No, it's because you shut me out that week that made me think that you don't! Do you know how hurt I was that you just decided to shut me out like that? Do you understand that when you just push us away that we'd suffer just like you? Do you? And it still hurts because I don't know _when_ you'd do that again! So why the hell would I ever tell you that I'm pregnant—"

Pidge's words stuttered to a complete stop, frozen in place just like Keith's heart suddenly became and everything was painfully silent. He couldn't breathe. It was as if his entire body had flooded ice for blood. His eyes grew wide as did hers and she took a step back.

"What—What did you say?" he breathed in complete and utter disbelief.

"No, I—" She shook her head slowly and took another step back. She was blinking rapidly, but he couldn't see beyond her words.

It couldn't be. It was only one time—

"Katie? Did you just—" Keith couldn't believe what he just heard. It was as if he was no longer in his body and someone else was hearing this.

He reached out to her.

And she ran out of the room.


	11. Just a Dream

**Summary** :

Recollections and a rude awakening.

 **Author's Note** :

I made good on that rating.

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Just a Dream**.

How the hell did those words come tumbling out? How the _hell_ did she just literally say the very words that she had _kinda sorta_ rehearsed for the last few weeks in a stupid argument? And how in the world was she going to face _everyone_ now that they had just heard the news?

But most importantly, how was she going to face Keith?

Slamming the door shut behind her, she pressed her back against it and slid down to the floor. She brought her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face to it and cried.

— x — x —

"I don't know if I heard that right, but did Pidge just say she was pregnant?" Lance asked in a way that his voice ended in a squeak. He looked between all of his friends while his hands tightened their grip on the back of the chair he was sitting on.

"I—I'm pretty—pretty sure that's what she said," Hunk said lamely. With his hands on his lap, he looked on in concern to everyone else in the room.

"And yet, you two don't seem surprised," Shiro spoke with a strained tone that his hard gaze looked on at his best friend and then to Allura.

Allura and Matt exchanged guilty glances from where they stood in the living room. Matt rubbed the back of his neck but didn't say anything. He looked at the floor and Allura clasped her hands in front of her.

"Why did both of you know and yet, none of us did?" Shiro asked, his surprise and incredulity with the situation permeating every fiber of his being. "How—"

"It wasn't something we had any right to share without disrespecting her wishes," Allura interrupted smoothly. "She wanted to tell the father of the child the news first before she spoke of this to anyone else."

"And? Did she tell him?" Coran asked with a raised brow. There was a hint of concern in his voice that spoke to his age. "Will he be taking responsibility for the child or will—"

"She said she would speak to him soon," she responded. "Coran, I understand your worries but please, let this be Pidge's and the father's decision to make. Pidge is already aware of the consequences of her pregnancy and I assure you, she had thought only of the child and nothing else."

Coran regarded every single person in the room with a long and stern look. "I imagine the parents already know?"

Allura matched his expression with a steadfast one. "Yes, they already know. So please, Coran, let us—let us sort this out ourselves."

He gave her an even longer look before he shook his head. "Alright, but I don't agree with how any of this is being handled, but you're right—it's both hers and the father's responsibility." He stood up from the table and was moving out of the room. "Now, if any of you need me, I'll be in my room so I expect everyone to be on their best behavior."

Despite the silence that greeted him, he took that as an understanding and left the room.

For the entire duration of the conversation, Keith was still frozen in place.

"Who's the father?" Shiro asked after a moment.

Both Matt and Allura averted their gaze.

"Matt, Allura." His voice was soft with a subdued anger. "Who's the father?"

Matt looked at Allura again and rubbed his neck. "I can only guess, but I don't know who it is."

"It's—It's not for me to say." Allura tightened her grasp and her eyes looked down to the floor before they closed. "I'm sorry."

"Keith, you alright?" Lance asked, standing so that he stood beside him. No response. "Hey?" He placed a hand to his shoulder.

Keith immediately flinched and jumped away from his touch with wide eyes. With him facing the room, he held the back of his neck as he tried to come to grips with the news and tried to calm his breathing. He bowed his head with his eyes squeezed tightly closed and said nothing.

"You're the father, aren't you." Hunk spoke with a quiet certainty that Keith stiffened. Hunk sighed.

"What?" Shiro couldn't believe it. "Keith, you—"

"When?"

Everyone stilled, eyes drifting to the angry voice that spoke. They all thought it would have been Matt that would've been angry, but they were surprised to see Lance scowling. With his hands balled into fists, he spoke again. "When?"

Keith didn't answer.

"Lance," Matt said in a warning tone.

"No, he needs to be responsible—he _should've_ been responsible," Lance snapped. His narrowed gaze until it was nearly slits.

"He just—"

"Answer me, Keith!"

Keith still didn't respond.

There was a flash of movement and the whole room shifted when they all tried to stop Lance as he grabbed Keith by the scruff of his shirt. "Goddamnit, Keith! Answer me! Don't just act like you can't hear me! She's only nineteen!"

And he was only twenty-two.

"Keith!"

There was no fight in Keith's body and Keith was still struggling to come to grips with the news.

She was pregnant.

Pidge was pregnant from one night with him. A night that he couldn't remember. The only night he couldn't remember until just then.

How terribly convenient.

— x — x —

The night was amazing enough as it was. They drank, they danced, and then made-out some (much to his surprise when he realized he liked it. Awkward, at first, but she learned quickly).

He liked kissing her.

He _really_ liked kissing her.

So much so that after they had made out in the club, he had tried to resist kissing her on the way to his apartment and when they were hanging out there. He was the one that brought out the video games for them to play and it worked for a little bit when they took turns and recorded each other's losses and frustrations. He was the one that brought out the other bottles to try and distract himself with more drinking so he wouldn't end up staring at her mouth. And he was the one that suggested they should talk about something personal to each other without thought.

Only, she laughed and kept touching him that it heated his skin every time she came close.

He remembered she took a lot of pictures.

And he remembered when he had decided to leave the room to try to find another distraction, she had thought she was smart and called him on his cell phone when he was only one room away in the single bedroom apartment.

At first, she only talked about how fun their night had been going that a good five minutes had him throwing jibs in her direction and she snapping back with that half-lidded smirk of hers that he could hear in her voice. But then, their conversation took a turn and he listened as her voice softened, talking about how the future scared her more than anything else in the world. It was a conversation that should've sobered him, but instead, he spoke with an equal gentleness that a drunk person could say at the moment.

"We're all scared of the future, Pidge," Keith had said. "It's only normal that we'd be scared."

"But you know, people have all of these expectations on me since I'm the 'genius' and the 'girl wonder'," she had said in a slightly bitter tone that was recognizable to his own.

"And I'm the 'boy wonder', so we're a good fit, don't you think?" he had said with a hint of humor in his voice.

Pidge didn't say anything, he remembered because when he had looked out into the living room, she was sitting on the couch and staring at her phone before slowly raising it to her ear.

"You'd think we'd be a good fit?" she had asked in a tone he'd never heard her use before. Soft, heart-warming, and something else he couldn't exactly pinpoint.

"Yeah, I think we would. Even if we're partners in a project or in life, I think we'd bring the world to its knees because we're that great. Wonder Girl and Wonder Boy—at it again with their amazingness." He was joking, he recalled since he was a little more confident in himself to do the great things that Shiro had often expected of him with a bit of alcohol in him.

And there was a musical sound in his ear that he hadn't been sure if he had been hallucinating or the alcohol had colored the memory differently than how it should've been, but her laugh was one of the nicest things he's heard.

"Yeah, we're pretty amazing, aren't we?"

"We are and don't let anyone else say otherwise."

"I think you're pretty amazing yourself, Keith. You know, you always seemed to make me feel safe and allow me to be myself rather anyone else who always held me with such high expectations. I mean, Lance and Hunk don't make me feel like I'm the elephant in the room but it's different with you."

Keith remembered relishing those words without understanding why. It had warmed him differently than how alcohol would. It was an unfamiliar sensation that he wanted to understand and figure out more when he wasn't so inebriated.

"And you don't ever treat me like I'm someone to be pitied or to be treated differently when they find out that I'm not exactly like everyone else." He leaned against the doorframe, watching Pidge in the living room as she moved to stand. Slowly, at first, but she eventually stood up with a look of accomplishment.

"Well, you're not any different from me—you breathe, you sleep, you drink, you have hobbies, and you _live_. We might not talk a lot or when we do and we sometimes argue, it doesn't matter. You're Keith and I'm Katie. We're just people."

"Yeah…"

"But!"

He blinked, looking up from a spot in the wall to where Pidge was standing in the living room, looking determined and with a hand on her hip.

"But! We're girl wonder and boy wonder, so we're special, you see," she whispered, almost conspiratorially that he wondered if she was farther gone than he was. God, all he wanted to do now was hug her and kiss the hell out of her because her words were doing something to him.

"So, because we are, what does—"

"We're meant to be together, clearly," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh? Is that right?" Keith couldn't help but snicker.

"Yes, so—" He watched her turn in her place in the living room, locked eyes with him and smirked, "—come out here so I can kick your ass at this video game."

He barked out a laugh.

Ending the call, he remembered that was probably what led to the next series of events. Keith sat down next to her on the couch, talked about something to do with his questions about the future that he remembered her taking pictures. Deciding that he should head to bed, he was pulled back down to the couch. (No, that had been some of the alcohol.)

Her hands trailed up his arm that he rotated himself so she was better pressed against him.

"Can I have a good night kiss?" Pidge had asked.

"Are you asking or are you going to take it?"

"I'll take it if you're not going to give me one."

"Sure, Pidge, sure." Keith thought as long as he didn't go anywhere near her mouth, he wouldn't have to worry about losing what little control he had left. And all he wanted to do was kiss her senseless.

Snaking his arm around her back, he leaned forward against her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. As he did so, he felt her hands slide up his chest to his shoulders, neck, and then his hair. "Pidge, we shouldn't—"

"Keith."

He was still for a moment and raised a brow. Even under all of the alcohol, he wasn't going to outright take advantage of her. Even if she felt good in his arms.

Her hands slid from his hair to cradling his face. With surprising lucidity, she spoke with a small smile and then bit her bottom lip. "Be my first?"

" _First_ —Pidge… I can't possibly—"

She pressed her lips gently against his, taking his breath away for the second time that night. And just like earlier, all of his restraints were off and he pressed against her insistently and began to kiss her. Pidge tightened her grip, their lips melding together as he continued to consume her every breath until she pulled her lips away with a gasp. His other hand slid up her back to the neck piece, swiftly unbuttoning it for more access. He hummed with satisfaction when she moaned under the nips and bites he left behind on her neck.

"Bedroom," she rasped, her fingers curling into his hair to tug him away from her.

They fumbled to standing and Keith resumed kissing her as they collided with the wall and then the bedroom wall and finally, the back of her legs hit the edge of the mattress and she fell backward with an undignified and incoherent noise that resembled something of a curse.

As he unbuttoned his vest and stripped off his gloves, he asked huskily, "are you sure? We can still stop."

She gave a nod. "I'm positive." Pidge hiked up her dress and he gulped, watching her reveal more leg and skin that he could see the red of her thong. She removed the garter belt that held her wallet and cell phone pocket. When she noticed that he was unabashedly watching her, she smirked.

"Like what you see?"

He didn't even answer and lunged.

Taking her face into his hands, he hungrily kissed and she only freely gave it.

It was relentless, rough, and hot to keep kissing Pidge like that: breathless, slightly sloppy, and heated. When she rotated to try and unzip the dress, he pressed kisses along her neck, shoulders, and her back. Her soft gasps of a surprise for every kiss had him groan. Even as he began to play with her and touched the little sensitive bud of nerves between her legs, she silently obeyed and pressed herself into his hand that if he had been coherent, he would've found it extremely erotic.

The dress finally pulled free and he set it aside just as his one hand began to unbutton his vest and shirt. Eagerly, he stripped off his shirt and leaned forward to press descending kisses on her neck again, her exposed breasts, abdomen, and he crouched so he could kiss her through her panties. He grabbed her by her hips and tugged her to the edge of the bed with a squeal and a fit of giggles.

She was enjoying it as much as he was and a warmth swelled from within his chest.

Keith's heart was hammering hard in his chest and his ears, but by god, he found the sight before him sexy. Her hair was about to come entirely undone and in the dim light, her eyes gleamed with a lidded smirk—a challenge. He was excited as she was, yes, but that didn't mean he should make her sore in the morning by not preparing her for what was to come.

She was musky, soft, and so quick to come when he felt her body tense underneath his touch that she tasted almost sweet when he slid his tongue around her panty. Even as he kissed her there, she responded with strangled cries and breathy calls of his name. Her thighs tightened around him and she smirked with every lick and shallow dip of his tongue. He was careful to make a mental note for later of how sensitive Pidge was.

"Keith, oh hell, what—" she huffed.

He didn't respond and instead pressed his tongue deeper inside. His hands slid along her thighs to the outer sides and hooked his fingers around the only thing preventing him from full on taking all of her into his mouth. He slid it up to her mid-thighs, her legs lifting so it rested on his back. Using her panties as a restraint, he resumed his licks and caresses of her most sensitive area. Judging from the sounds she was making, it was becoming obvious that she wasn't unfamiliar with the idea of an orgasm and if her hasty and short breaths were any indication, she was already close.

He pulled away and she whined in frustration, digging the heels of her feet against his back.

"Don't fucking stop," she snapped that heat coiled in his abdomen and straight to his groin.

"Who said I was stopping?" He smirked as his hands pulled away from her hips to her legs. Caressing her skin, she whimpered when his one hand slid off her panties and the other slid down and around to cup her. The other slid down her leg to her breast and squeezed. She was so soft that she cried out when he began to pinch her nipple between his fingers while playing with the entrance to her and around her clit.

It was only when his finger slid into her did he feel her shudder beneath him. Her back arched and she gripped the bedsheets that he felt a sense of confidence surge through him. But he also knew that he couldn't hold on for any longer.

"Now, Keith," she gasped. His fingers were soaked with how truly wet she was and Keith bit the inside of his mouth at how truly arousing that was to see.

"God, you're so ready for me." He pulled his fingers from her, bringing with him the slickness from her. Another groan was bit down and he unbuckled his pants and slid both his boxers and pants down. Removing every other bit of clothing, Keith lifted her legs and then promptly slid Pidge further up on the bed.

Without hesitation, he ripped open the sealed package he had hidden in his nightstand and quickly slipped it on. He pressed against her legs, pushing it so it rested on her chest that it made her gleam in the dimly lit room. Rubbing his length on her, Pidge shuddered and whimpered until it was covered in her own fluids.

Tightening his grip on the underside of her thighs, he slowly shifted and angled himself to press his tip into her. He leaned forward slowly, watching with gritted teeth as Pidge was slowly taking the entirety of his length, and almost choked with how tightly she squeezed him.

"Fuck," he swore and Pidge continued to grip the bed sheets until her knuckles turned white. "Relax, or it'll hurt more."

She tried to obey, he could see it in that faint nod of hers, and he bent forward to press a kiss to her lips. Instantly, her body relaxed in his grip. Lazily, his lips brushed hers and pressed harder only when she shifted under him. Keith pulled his hands away from her thighs so that she could rest her feet on the bed, her thighs wrapped and pressed tight against his hips. Doing so had Pidge gasp against him and he quickly drank that surprise in.

He trailed kisses down from her lips to her jawline and then to her neck. She sighed and arched her back while her arms wrapped around his torso. Her hands pressed into his back, nails digging into him that Keith near hissed under his breath. Continuing to push into her until he was at the hilt, Pidge whimpered under him and her nails dug deeper into him that he buried his face into the crook of her neck to muffle the groan.

"Pidge, you alright?" he asked hoarsely, trying to fight off the urge to move when she enveloped him as wetly and hotly as she did. He was relieved he didn't just end right there and then, so aroused by how tightly she clung to him, but he almost did. Grateful that he had to do this slower than normal, he knew he would've come like a teen doing this for the first time.

"Ye-Yeah," she managed. "I think you can move now."

Keith gave it another minute before he moved, despite Pidge's initial comment that she was fine. He had to close his eyes, focus his thoughts, and bite the inside of his mouth again to keep a better grip of himself to stop from pounding into her like a hormonal teenager. (And coming, good god, he was so close that he needed a minute to pull himself together.) His skin became sticky and hot with the beginnings of perspiration, so much effort was put into him so that he wouldn't lose what little control he had.

He slowly slid out of her and Keith wanted to immediately thrust back in. It took all of him to not just ram into her again. His grip on her tightened and he shifted, lifting himself on his forearms so he could watch himself slide out of her. When he did so, instead, he could see Pidge's eyes were closed and clenched tight as she was bracing herself for the pain.

"Relax," he murmured, and his right arm shifted to slide down her side to her hip.

"G-Go," she said through gritted teeth, opening her eyes just enough to give him a look mixed with pain and discomfort.

He slid back in and began a slow and lazy pace while Pidge slowly became accustomed to his size. It was only after a few minutes of the continuously and painfully slow pace did he finally begin to feel her relax under him. Her grip on his back lessened and she heaved a sigh instead of a ragged and sharp inhale of breath. Without warning her, he began to pick up the pace.

She gave a cry in surprise and her nails dug into his back anew. "Keith!" Then she released her hands and gripped the bedsheets with a heaving chest.

He didn't respond and instead, only began to pick up the pace that her voice was becoming a frequent and quick gasp. Vaguely, he remembered to grind himself on her, rubbing against her in places he knew would only heighten the experience, and lifted himself onto his hands. The familiar clenching around him told him she was close that he picked up speed again before taking advantage of her arching back to take one of her breast's nipples into his mouth.

That did it.

With a wordless cry, she came and her grip tightened around the sheets that it shifted around them. Keith continued to stroke her, thrust in, and play with her as he rode her orgasm out. Her body weight relaxed and her chest rose and quickly fell and her eyes closed.

But he wasn't done.

After another few seconds of a standstill, he began to move again. Her eyes shot open and to him, cheeks flushed from the bliss Pidge had achieved moments ago. "Keith, wait, I'm not—"

He took her words away when he gave her a hard thrust, reaching a deeper part of her that her head was thrown back in surprise with another sharp gasp, and she arched her back once more. He leaned over her, her lovely breasts rubbing against his chiseled chest that he could feel her hardened nipples. This time, he kept up a relentless pace that Pidge's voice was even louder this time around.

He placed a hand over her mouth and groaned when she tightened around him.

Continuing to thrust into her at a steady and hard pace, he pulled his hand away to grab at her breasts and to grip her hip. While her cries hadn't lessened in volume, watching her attempts in stifling them was driving him crazy.

One of his hands gripped her hip so that he could position her right beneath him and the other was braced right by her head. Her curled hair surrounded her head like a halo and her skin gleamed in the darkness thanks to the aid of the makeup that had transformed her. With a low growl when her back arched at another orgasm, Keith last long enough to come right after her. After he had popped off the condom, he tied the top off and tossed it into the trash. There was no way he was going to last when she clenched him as tightly as she did. He was lucky enough to have lasted upon entering her.

He was about to pull away when a soft hum tickled his ear and her hand touched him that he shuddered. He didn't even get to say her name when she somehow managed to flip him on his back and positioned him right underneath her entrance and without the control, he normally would've had while sober to stop her, she embraced him raw.

* * *

A sharp and an upsetting anger spiked through Keith that he shoved off Lance's hand and straightened his clothes. He was still having trouble understanding, absorbing, the fact that Pidge was pregnant. The news was heavy and he was shocked to his very core.

Pidge, pregnant, with _his_ child.

"You think I don't know that?!" he shouted. He's pained—filled with an undesirable and uncertain guilt—and suddenly, the last few weeks with Pidge made sense. _It was too much_. "You think I honestly don't know that?" His voice cracked on the last word and it sounded just as broken as he was.

Keith could feel everyone's eyes were on him and the walls were closing in on him. What was he supposed to do? No, that wasn't the question he was supposed to ask.

Was Pidge okay? How long had she known? How long had she struggled with the knowledge of being pregnant? How long had she known and had to sit on telling him the news? Had it been his fault why she hadn't told him sooner?

"Keith, you don't look well—please, sit," Allura said, cautiously approaching him.

"How long has she known?"

"I'm sorry?" Allura blinked.

Keith ran a hand through his hair and then back down his face again in frustration. "How long has she known she was pregnant, Allura?" he snapped.

She bit her lower lip and took a few steps back.

"Keith, we're all as surprised as you are about the news, but—" Shiro began.

"No," he retorted sharply, wincing when he realized what he was doing. He was about to shut down like Pidge had accused him of, but honestly, he needed _time_ to absorb what she had just told him. It was a lot to process in one day.

"I'm sorry, but just-just give me a sec, okay? I need—I just need a minute." He turned away from his friends and sat down on the patio stairs that faced the beach.

Matt searched everyone's faces before shaking his head. "I'm going to check on Katie, you guys watch…" His words trailed off when they all cast their glances in Keith's direction. There were still so many questions to be asked, and yet, none of them would be answered without pushing either of their friends to an edge.

Without another word, Matt left the room.

Sitting out on the patio that led to the beach, Keith felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He decided to ignore it and was in favor of trying to figure out his jumbled thoughts before he would talk to anyone else.

* * *

Pidge was packing, her tear streaked face dry and yet, her brows were contorted in an angry scowl. She didn't want to talk about this in that way. She didn't want to talk about how she was pregnant with Keith's kid in front of everyone. And she especially didn't want to talk about this when she hadn't even been ready to do it in the first place.

His face was the last thing she could see in her mind, and it hurt her that she had said such delicate words to him. She knew Keith. She knew him better than she knew herself.

And she knew that Keith wanted a family of his own.

It wasn't something he wanted now, she knew, but she always saw it in the way he looked at everyone else who had their own family. There was a look in his eyes when she talked about Matt and her parents, something in that look of his that spoke to something she wasn't sure she'd ever truly understood. After all, all she knew about his family was that he was adopted by Shiro's family and their family had quickly dwindled to just the two of them.

Tears stung her eyes again, and she blinked them away, angrily packing her things.

This vacation was over. She couldn't handle this anymore. It had finally exploded and Pidge had no control over the situation. After all of her plans, the rehearsed speeches of how to tell Keith, Matt, and jeezus, Lance and Hunk, and her time spent trying to figure out how to delicately put it… gone. Shiro was no doubt beyond feeling the anger and confusion and simply wanted to find out what was going on.

No, she didn't want to talk to _anyone_ about this.

The door creaked open and she flinched, scolding herself on why she didn't lock it. "I don't want to talk!" she shouted.

"It's just me, Pidge." Matt peeked his head into the room before entering. Closing the door behind him, he stepped precariously into the room. "You doing alright?"

She slammed her suitcase shut. "No, Matt, everything is _not_ okay."

"Pidge, calm down—"

"No! I won't! I'm sick of all this balancing between Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Shiro and God, Keith. I-I just can't right now. It all blew up and they're all going to be asking questions and—and we need to go."

"Pidge, running—"

"Let me goddamn run, okay?!" Pidge slammed her hands down on the suitcase. She sighed, lifting her hands to rub at her temples. "I just need to regain my composure before I'm ready to talk to anyone about this."

Matt sighed heavily, his arms crossed across his chest. Scratching his head, he said, "Alright, let's just go for a drive. Away from all of this and you'll feel better in no time."

Pidge rolled her eyes, mirroring Matt's posture. "I doubt it."

Matt huffed. "Oh, come on, we need to go on a supply run anyway. Let's go."

Without waiting for her to respond, he turned and headed out of the room. With an exasperated huff, she followed after him. She knew she had to be rational about this, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

By the time she was heading down the stairs, Matt had ushered her out of the way before anyone saw her. Her gaze wandered over the people in the room, noting that Keith wasn't in the large living space, and inwardly sighed in a mixture of relief and disappointment. Her chest ached and Pidge resisted the urge to grab at it.

With a heavy sigh, Pidge headed out to the car just as Matt started the car.

For the first, maybe, ten or so minutes, there was nothing but silence in the car while Matt drove. Pidge didn't want to think but ended up doing it anyway. With her arms crossed and slumped in the passenger seat, her gaze was locked to the passing scenery that flew by. There was soft classical music playing on the radio, soothing what frayed nerves she had, and she had to admit, the drive was a little more relaxing than she had anticipated. Knowing that Matt wouldn't bug her outright until she was ready to speak was heartwarming and his presence beside her was reassuring her that everything hadn't fallen to pieces like she thought it was.

How dramatic of her.

And the very idea of it made her inwardly wince.

It was only when they were at another turn did Matt finally speak up. Turning to face her, he spoke softly, "You doing okay?"

Pidge sighed, rolling her eyes and pulled what fragile bits of her bravado back together again for a sarcastic tone. "Doing just fine, just _fine_ because you know, I told him I was pregnant in the _best_ way possible. And in front of everyone, no less." Though, her tone did deflate at the end of it.

Matt looked on sympathetically and his gaze returned to the road. He rubbed his neck and sighed. "I figured, you know, with how you were around him."

Pidge said nothing. After all, Matt knew her as well as she did herself. (Sometimes… just sometimes, but in this case, she assumed it was because she might've made it obvious.) A lidded gaze continued to stare out the window.

"You were… _different_ and it was nice." He continued as though she had responded. "But I didn't realize how much different it was until recently when you told me you were pregnant. I didn't want to assume since you hadn't said anything."

Pidge closed her eyes. "You don't have to say anymore. I kinda figured it was obvious. I mean, it wasn't like I talked to a lot of guys on a frequent basis."

"You had that guy, but it wouldn't be like you to, well, date on a whim."

Pidge would've felt offended by the stipulation that she couldn't do boys and dating in general, but she was too mentally and emotionally frayed from her anger, from her hurt, and from the disappointment in herself from letting such an important piece of news out in the middle of an argument.

"And you and Keith had always been close. So, I'm not really surprised."

His name made her chest ache and her eyes burned. But she wouldn't let herself cry. No, she couldn't cry.

"But we were never close like that."

"It's not a difficult thing for the kind of friendship you two had, and turn it into something like feelings." Matt turned to face her, briefly, his expression consoling. "I don't know how you two ended up like this, or if you even feel strongly about him, but, you guys care about each other. A lot. He'd never intentionally hurt you and you'd never intentionally hurt him."

Pidge slowly shifted and sat upright in the seat. Her gaze slowly lifted to him, but then quickly dropped to the dashboard. "Yeah, I know," she murmured, understanding where he was coming from. After all, Keith and her had always been the sort of be expressive in their words and actions. But, she knew both of them cared for each other for nearly as long as they've known one another.

"Knowing him, he's probably more worried about me rather than himself," Pidge said wryly. "He's always thought of me first. But, someone's gotta worry about him..."

Matt smiled but said nothing else. He was a little focused on driving that it took a bit before his smile vanished.

Pidge frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think the brakes are working."

She tried not to have her heart leap into her throat. "Wh-What?" she squeaked.

He repeated lifting his leg and pressing his foot on the brake pedal. "It's—It's not working."

There was a nervous laugh that was exchanged between the two of them before she could feel the blood leave her face. "Seriously, Matt, if this is a joke—"

"It's not," he bit out. Instead of panicking, as one would normally in this situation, his brow was furrowed in concentration and focus. "Fuck, we're going too fast for us to jump out of the car."

"Matt—"

And then there were bright headlights and the sound of a semi-truck blaring its horns.

* * *

 **A/N** :

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	12. Acceptance

**Summary** :

Resolution is what keeps her together, but for Keith, he accepts what's in store for him.

 **Author's Note** :

This isn't it, but this is progressively building. To what, you'll have to keep reading to see!

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Acceptance**

The lights flickered in and out in her hazy vision and all Pidge could hear was the faint call of her name. Was that Keith looking down at her?

"Pidge, come on please, hold on for me, okay?"

Keith? She wanted to call out to him, use her voice when she found nothing was moving. Everything felt heavy and even trying to blink felt strenuous and tiring. Already exhausted, she closed her eyes again.

 _Sorry, Keith, I need sleep_ , she idly thought.

She took a breath and fell into the darkness.

There was something heavy resting on top of her, on all of her, and when she blinked, she was standing in a coffee shop with her brother. It was their place of a hangout for her and Matt, a familiar place, and one of her favorite places to be. Twiddling her fingers away at the mobile game she had just downloaded, she quirked a brow up at Matt, who sat across from her at the table.

"Where are they?" she asked.

Matt turned, and Pidge blinked. Did he always look so young? No, that wasn't right. This was _years_ ago.

No… did she die?

"They should be coming soon. You'll finally get to have a friend, so Shiro and I aren't just leaving you to hang." Matt laughed goodnaturedly, but Pidge smirked.

"Afraid I'd take Shiro away from you?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Please, Shiro is nice enough that he'd humor both of us."

 _Right_ , that much she couldn't argue.

So when Shiro did eventually show up with a brooding looking male behind him, Pidge had to wonder if Matt's definition of a guy she was willing to hang out included "Lord Emo."

But, there was something about those eyes that caught her attention. She'd never tell anyone that Keith's eyes were as expressive as her animated actions, and she doubted that she'd ever confessed that his biggest tell was those eyes of his. She had also forgotten just how serious he was when he scarcely cracked a smile.

How come she saw this again?

He introduced himself as Keith, and when Matt and Shiro began on a tangent of a conversation that neither of the younger siblings could keep up with, Pidge leaned forward to the other. "Are you as bored as I am?"

 _Where am I? Why am I here?_ Pidge wanted to ask, but her body didn't seem to be listening to her.

Keith lifted a brow and leaned forward. "You could say that."

"Wanna play me in this mobile game I just downloaded?"

Both of his eyebrows shot to his hairline. "Sure? It's better than doing nothing, I guess."

Her head was suddenly pounding, throbbing, and there was a loud beeping noise that came from the kitchen of the coffee shop. But no one else in the coffee shop seemed to notice the loud beeping noise. When she focused on the sound, she realized it sounded like a heart monitor.

A heart monitor.

No, the coffee shop wasn't the first time she met Keith, she realized with a gasp.

How did Matt and Shiro meet? School, she wanted to say, but then, Pidge's and Matt's dad had collapsed from overworking when they were much younger, and he had been sent to the hospital for monitoring. Sickened and sensitive to the smell of antiseptic and the strange stillness and whiteness of the hospital, Pidge was wandering through the hospital to find anything that would distract her, maybe even escape from the white cage.

And there she saw him, in one lonely and empty hallway that only had a few scattered seating that lined the walls. A small boy, with his knees drawn to his chin with his arms wrapped around his legs. He wore a red hoodie and navy jeans with red Converses. He was alone that Pidge glanced left, right, and then left again before walking over to him.

"Are you okay?"

The boy lifted his head from his arms, eyes bright with tears that he immediately wiped them away upon seeing her. But, he shook his head in response.

"Can I sit next to you?"

He nodded again, and she did.

"What are you doing here?" he asked after a few minutes.

"I didn't want to be here, but I was trying to find something to do."

He rested his head on his arms but faced her. "Don't worry; this place scares me too."

"Why are you here? Where's your mom and dad?"

He shifted, sitting up and sticking his hands into his pockets and Pidge realized they were just about the same size.

"Not here. Not anymore."

Pidge decided then that she didn't like hospitals.

"My dad's in the emergency room," the boy said softly. "And mom's… mom's… not here."

"I'm here," Pidge said suddenly.

He turned to face her and cracked a small smile. "Yeah. I guess that means we're friends now, doesn't it?"

"Yep, you can't lose me now."

He managed a laugh. "Friends then." And the boy stuck out a hand.

"Friends." And they did what was the best two children could do for a handshake.

Tears welled up in her eyes and the head pounding worsened. The beeping grew louder, more so when Pidge was forced back to her father's room, where they told her that her dad was going to be hospitalized for several more days and needed to transfer to another hospital.

Listening to the news of her father in his room as his heart monitor grew louder and louder, Pidge cried out with how deafening it was until she woke up.

Jolting awake, she was now in the hospital, and her head was throbbing with a sluggishness she knew came from drugs and quite possibly a concussion. Her hand lifted and all she felt were bandages wrapped around her head and—

Her eyes shot open, and her gaze frantically darted around to find Matt asleep in the chair next to her with some gauze and other smaller bandages wrapped around his arms. Aside from what looked to be considered scratches, he seemed okay.

Her hand immediately went to her abdomen, a cold fear trickling in as slowly as she let it. There was panic setting in with the irrational fear and concern that she could feel that came from her surroundings and with what had happened.

"Matt!" she managed to croak.

Matt jolted awake, blinking quickly in alarm before relaxing and leaning forward to take Pidge's hand in his. "Relax, Pidge, you're okay, you're okay."

The panic was still fluttering in the pit of her stomach that Matt placed a hand on her shoulder, further attempts to calm her. Reluctantly, she tried to, but when she opened her mouth to ask, Matt answered without fail.

"The baby is fine," he reassured with a small smile. "The baby is fine and still very much healthy." There was a small shine in his eye that Pidge recognized as awe and some semblance of pride. "The baby is ten weeks old, Pidge."

There was something emotional in the way he spoke, and she had to blink back the tears of relief and the sudden understanding of what her decision was. Her arm tightened around her abdomen, and she squeezed his hand. The tears came anyway, realization dawning on her for the choice. The fact Matt was so accepting and so readily okay with the idea was more than enough for her. But…

"I'm keeping the baby."

Matt blinked.

 _For now, this will do_ , she thought with quiet determination.

"I'm keeping the baby, Matt," she whispered, lifting her free arm to cover her eyes and the other hand that was holding Matt's hand, released and shifted to covering her abdomen once more. Her watery gaze shifted to him, determined. "With or without Keith, I'm keeping the baby."

Matt's gaze softened. "I see." He nodded after a moment. "Are you going to tell Keith that?"

Pidge wiped away the tears and took a steadying breath. "Yeah, I will," she replied solemnly. "Whether or not he's okay with it, I guess, is another story."

Silence heavily fell between them, and a nurse came in upon the realization that Pidge had awoken. After a series of questions about her welfare and how she was feeling, she was told by a nurse that the police was concerned for her health and that they would be alerted to when she would be awake.

"Police? Why the police?" She tried her best not to sound alarmed.

The nurse looked between Matt and her before she sighed. "I'm just doing what I was ordered to do, Katie, so I don't know much about the situation as much as your brother would. Good news is that you're recovering well and your baby is healthy so you should get released soon." After the nurse excused herself to grab the doctor the next series of similar questions and general concern for her health, she and Matt were finally left alone once more.

"Mom and Dad are on their way," Matt said from looking on his phone.

Pidge stifled the fear that fluttered in her stomach. Terrified and relieved to know she was okay was overwhelming, but when she wrapped her arms around her abdomen, her panic began to subside. She couldn't be scared like a kid anymore, and she needed to pull herself together. If not for herself, but the unborn child.

"Tell them they don't need to come," Pidge said after a moment. "We're okay."

Matt looked up from the phone. "Pidge—"

"We only got a little scratched up with no concussions, so we're okay. Tell them we'll see them when we get back home."

"Mom's worried about you _and_ the baby, Pidge." He spoke softly, his gaze softening at the handheld device. "At least, call them, okay? They're worried sick."

Pidge bit her lower lip and nodded.

It was when she heard mom's voice on the phone did she finally begin to cry.

* * *

It was the morning after with the sun peeking up over the horizon, Pidge slouched in the passenger seat with a pout. Shiro was driving, and Matt was in the backseat texting on his phone. They were on their way back to the vacation home where their friends were waiting for them.

Aside from the panic when she woke, her mind was hazy from the flickering images that she dreamt while she was unconscious. Was it a dream? She didn't remember her father ever once being in the hospital. After all, if that was the case, then did she genuinely meet a boy in the hospital that she had called her friend?

Such thoughts were briefly cast aside since she had checked out of the hospital, the first thing she noticed was that her phone had survived and was luckily undamaged in the wreck. But, she had sixteen missed calls. One from Hunk, two from Lance, one from Allura, one from Shiro, and then _eleven_ from Keith with six voicemails. Her chest hurt at the number of missed calls from Keith and wondered once more what had happened.

The voicemails were nothing extraordinary, but they were enough to burn her eyes in tears.

From Hunk, he left:

"Hey, Pidge? It's Hunk. I know that, uh, bomb you dropped on us was, uh, pretty shocking, but how are you doing? Are you okay? I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay because you seemed so stressed and I—I want to help you out in any way I can. But take your time, if you need it. I'm here okay? I'll be ready whenever you are. So, talk to you later, Pidge."

From Lance:

"Okay, you didn't pick up when I hung up the first time, so I thought I should leave a voicemail the second time since I'm not sure when you'd listen to this. You know, we're here for you, right, Pidge? I mean, we're best friends so we gotta stick together—you and the little kid that's growing inside of you. Whatever you wanna do, I'm here for you, and I'll even do whatever you ask of me, 1000% of the way. Just let me know, and I'm here for you no matter what so, don't forget that, okay? Um, anyway, I'll catch you later. Oh, and uh, this is Lance, by the way."

From Allura:

"Hey, Pidge, it's Allura. While that wasn't quite what I was expecting when you decided that you were going to tell Keith while we were on the trip, but, it could always be worse off. You already know my stance on how I feel about this, but I hope that you're doing well. Whatever it is you still are deciding to do, please know that I am with you whatever you decide to do. Please, Pidge, we'll be waiting—I'll be waiting and ready. Take care, Pidge."

And then Shiro had his turn:

"Hey Pidge, it's Shiro. I think it's highly likely that everyone else has already called after that little event in the living room. And while I can't claim to know what you or Keith are going through, just don't leave Keith out of the picture to decide everything. Just give him some time to process, and Keith will be ready to help you take on whatever problems you'll have. At least, don't try to take this on alone because we're here for you. I think with whatever problem you may have; I think we can solve it _together_ if we stick together. So don't worry too much—we're here for you. We'll talk some more later so take care of yourself."

It was when Pidge went to the last two voicemails that she braced herself. Both of them had Keith's name attached, and both of them were quite lengthy. Wiping away any tears she had, she began to listen to his voicemails.

"Hey, Pidge, it's Keith." There was a brief pause, he cleared his throat and then spoke again. "I'm going to admit that it wasn't my intention to force you to tell me that sort of thing like that. I-I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know I have some things that I need to work on, but, I'll gladly do it if you're willing to talk to me about—I don't know—this future that we have in front of us because you know me, Pidge, you know that I've always wanted a family of my own." There was a pause, and Pidge could hear the slow and steadying breathing Keith did to collect himself.

"But, uh, either way, talk to me Pidge. I want us to work this out together. So call me, okay? Or at least maybe listen to me when I come to talk to you."

And that was the end of his first voicemail. The second one was timestamped to be an hour later, which, looking at the call log, was when most of the missed calls from Keith started and nearly ended.

At first, the voicemail had nothing but static until she realized she heard the faint sounds of someone breathing hard on the other side. There was a curse and then the sound of something dropping heavily. Concentrating, Pidge realized that the person who was breathing with difficulty was Keith. When the pieces fell into place, she knew that this was the voicemail that Keith had unwittingly left.

Holding the phone precariously in her hand, her grip tightening, Pidge spoke softly with dread.

"What the heck happened? Why is the police getting involved?" she asked. She slowly turned in her seat to face both Shiro and Matt, her eyes flashing in agitation. She was confused, and she didn't know what on earth was happening. "You wouldn't tell me anything in the hospital, and I want to know why the police are asking questions about our car accident." She was piecing things together, but she didn't want it to be true. Her eyes switched between her brother and Shiro for a solid moment, waiting for it to sink in that she wanted answers.

Matt didn't answer and averted his gaze.

"Well?"

She could see the "up-to-you" look that Shiro gave Matt in the rearview mirror. Matt sighed, shifting to glance in her direction. "We were going to talk about this when we got back to the house so can you please just wait a little longer?"

Pidge lifted a brow. "And why is it that you can't tell me now?"

"Because the police went to our friends back at the vacation house, and they've been asking for answers since you're taken to the hospital." Matt gave a subtle shake of his head. "As much as I'd love to tell you everything right now, right at this very moment, I can't because everyone else would kill me instead for rehashing everything."

"Please try to understand it from our perspective, Pidge," Shiro said, glancing at her briefly before returning his attention to the road. His grip tightened on the steering wheel. "Getting the call from Keith had been one thing, but seeing the wreckage was another."

Pidge stopped breathing and again, another cold set its claws into her back and chest. Gripping her arms, her eyes grew wide, and she spoke with a wheeze. "What? Keith? What about Keith? Is he okay?" So that last voicemail was what she had suspected it to be: Keith working to help them.

Shiro's gaze hardened and he stared resolutely forward.

"Keith found us," Matt spoke in soft tones.

It was as if the world had crumbled in around her.

* * *

Keith wished that the day would end the moment Pidge had stormed off and left him with the news bomb she dropped on him.

He was mentally fatigued, physically exhausted, and mostly put through a tiresome and exhaustive emotional roller coaster. In a single day, he had managed to float to the highest of cloud nine and then he fell so hard that he hit rock bottom.

He didn't want this.

After sitting on the patio for a good forty minutes, Keith decided that it was enough moping around and laughed in spite of himself. After all this time, he finally got the family he always wanted.

Rubbing his neck, he pulled out his cell phone to read the text message:

Unknown Number (8:39 PM): Hello, Keith. Whenever you are free and able, please give me a call. We finally found her.

With a heavy sigh, Keith held and pressed the cellphone against his forehead as he leaned forward on his knees. _One thing at a time_ , he thought with deep breaths. But, there was a weight in his chest that became lighter.

Finally, he can begin taking the final steps toward his _home_.

Heading back inside the vacation home, he glanced around to find Lance and Hunk watching some television with Shiro, Allura, and Coran talking in the kitchen. He decided to go and find Pidge and to finish their conversation in private if she'd hear him out. Without alerting his friends, he silently crept up the stairs and headed toward the bedroom. Finding it ajar, however, creased his brows in concern.

Peeking inside the bedroom, he found it in a messy array of clothes and half-packed duffle bags. The last time he was in here, he was confident that the room was in near pristine condition that he had assumed Allura played a part. To find it in this sort of chaos wasn't like her, but it was very much like Pidge that he couldn't help the dread from forming in the pit of his stomach.

He left and glanced among his friends from the second floor. It looked like even Matt was gone but then—

"Weird, Matt and Pidge should've been back by now," Shiro said thoughtfully. "I guess his talk with her is taking a lot longer than he thought it would."

"That was quite unexpected that the news would be let out like that." Allura lifted a hand to her chin, her gaze angled down to the floor.

"I guess you knew since whenever she found out," Shiro sighed. "I can't believe she's—"

"She'll be alright," Coran remarked. "After all, this is Pidge we're talking about, and she's a phenomenal person. But, either way, being supportive of whatever she decides is the best thing we can do for her."

Shiro nodded, and Keith descended the stairs to head back out to the front of the house. Standing on the patio out front, he pulled out his cell phone. Scrolling through the names to find Pidge's, Keith tensed. He took a breath.

Was he ready to talk to her? No, not really.

Was he ready to talk about a future that's bigger than himself? No.

And was he ready to accept the fact that he and Pidge might have a family _together_? Of course not.

But, Keith wanted to know what her thoughts were on the entirety of the situation. She was the first one to find out she was pregnant. Pidge was the one that had to juggle with the fact that there was a life growing inside of her and he had helped create it. And she was the one that had to think about the future a lot sooner than a nineteen-year-old had to.

But, it was a _family_.

Closing his eyes to take another deep breath, he knew he wanted it. And if it was with Pidge, then all the better.

Because he couldn't ask for a better partner.

Keith tapped her number to give her phone a call. He hoped she'd pick up. When she didn't answer the first time, he brushed it off.

He called again.

And it went to voicemail. This time, Keith left one.

But something niggled in the back of his head—a gut feeling that wouldn't just leave him alone.

He began to pace and continued to call her at several minute intervals. It was only when the phone continued to ring and then go to the voicemail that he knew she wasn't blocking or ignoring him. After all, the continuous missed calls were unlike her.

Keith slowed, trying to put his thoughts together. One, Shiro was right, and they were gone a long time; two, if they were going for a food run, they would already be back by now; and three, Matt would've made sure she came back, even if it was begrudgingly.

No, something _isn't_ right.

His feet were moving before his notice, and he headed to the motorcycle that was strapped down on a trailer and hitched to Shiro's car. Donning his helmet and pulling the keys from his pocket, he set the bike down and took off.

Keith estimated about thirty minutes of him driving before he eventually slowed down to see skid marks on the road. He coasted to a stop on the side, kicked down the kickstand and turned off the bike, listening for anything that was out of place. Sticking his keys into his pocket, he pulled off his helmet and yelled.

"Pidge! Matt!"

With the guardrail destroyed, it looked like a car had swerved off the road. He tried to stifle the panic that was flooding him, worry and fear icily gripping him that he ran to the edge when he heard no response.

It was near pitch black so navigating the dark had him squinting to try and spot Matt's car.

When he had no such luck, he pulled out his phone and began to dial Pidge's phone once more, craning his head to listen for the familiar ringtone of her love for the fantastical world of a particular wizarding world.

He couldn't hear it the first time and hung up. He dialed again and again until he hit the fifth call and his eyes and hearing had adjusted to the near silence of the area around him. Faintly, he saw them.

There, in a ditch down below, he recognized Matt's car was slammed head first, smoke slowly billowing out from the engine. While the trench itself wasn't super deep and the edge that Keith stood on wasn't a sheer cliff (at most, six feet deep), the ditch itself was formed from the rain that continued to flood in the area. Regardless of how shallow it was, it didn't make the sight any easier to stomach.

Keith slowly slid down into the ditch, moving to Pidge's side in the passenger's seat where she had crashed, face first, into the cushions that had blown upon contact. Thankfully, she was fine and didn't seem to have any dire injuries, but there were some cuts on her head. It must've happened when they crashed. Matt looked worse off but appeared to have minor scrapes and cuts. (Again, Keith surmised it had to do with the shallow ditch, but it seemed like they were going at a fast enough speed to nearly kill them.)

Forcing himself to take a shaky breath to calm himself, he realized he smelled gasoline. That meant he needed to move quickly.

The door jammed shut that from his keys, Keith pulled a small keychain that looked like a thin box cutter, brightly colored red. He took the one side and with some force, pressed it against the window. The glass shattered into tiny fragments, not enough to cause further harm, but he moved quickly to use the other part of the tool to cut through her seat belt. With precarious positioning, he reached through the window and gently pulled Pidge out.

Carrying her, he gently set her down on the side. He repeated the process with Matt but was struggling since he had slammed into the steering wheel.

It was when they were both safely laying down that he called the police and paramedics to come. Then, he collapsed to sitting beside his friends, took another shaky breath, and dialed Shiro's number.

* * *

Keith sat in the waiting room while the doctor made sure Matt and Pidge were okay. Thankfully, it didn't take too long, but both of them would be unconscious for some time.

Shiro placed a hand on Keith's shoulder, but Keith took another deep breath to ask (a habit that was quickly cementing himself to not panic), although the news had only been revealed earlier in the day.

"Is… Is the baby okay?" he asked the doctor.

The doctor blinked, an elderly, but a very energetic woman with more greys than there are silvers in her hair and laugh lines around her eyes and mouth. Her glasses were thin, frameless, and her eyes a pale blue that seemed warm when she smiled.

She nodded. "Yes, the baby is healthy and still quite healthy. Are you the father?"

Keith collapsed into the seat behind him and bent forward on his knees with his face in his hands.

Shiro stiffly smiled. "He is. But, how are they?"

"I take it that you're their friends?"

"Yes, we are."

"Since you're not family, I can only tell you so much, but at the very least, both of your friends are lucky, and they should be recovering in the recovery rooms. Your friend, Matthew, is going to be waking up soon if you'd like to see him."

Quickly, they went over to the room and found Matt already awake. When he saw them, he gave a weak wave. To the left of him were the police that Keith had called earlier.

"That's all, Matt," the one cop said with a nod of his head. "We'll contact you if we have any further questions and let us know when your sister is ready." They hand him two business cards, one for the cop that sported a typical crew cut with mocha colored skin and the other a taller and lankier man with sun-kissed skin and kind eyes.

"You doing alright?" Shiro asked when they were close enough and no longer within earshot of the departing police officers.

"I've been worse." Matt shrugged. But then his eyes shifted to Keith. "They said you found us, Keith."

Keith merely nodded. "You were in the ditch off the turn to the wharf."

Matt bowed his head in understanding and crossed his arms. "Pidge is going to be kept overnight for observation purposes, but she and—" he paused, his grip on his arms tightening, "—the baby is fine, thankfully. I'll be leaving in a minute once the other nurse gives me the okay."

"You'll probably spend the night here with Pidge," Shiro said, "so we brought you and Pidge a spare change of clothes so that should tide you both over."

Keith shook his head. "Allura packed Pidge's bag, so nothing to worry about there, but—"

"Don't worry, Keith, I got Pidge. You get some rest, and we'll talk some more tomorrow." Matt gave a smile in reassurance. "And I'll tell you what's happening when—"

"When what?" Keith narrowed his gaze. "What's going on?"

Shiro sighed. "Don't worry about it. Right now, you need some time to recover. You've had a long day, and you need some rest."

Though Keith didn't intend to come off as impatient or short-tempered, he snapped, "Is there such a thing as a 'break,' Shiro? Stuff keeps happening whether or not I want it to."

The older crossed his arms. "Agreed," he nodded with his mouth set in a thin line and a somber expression, "but when you can, you ought to take those breaks when it does happen. Please, for my sake and yours, head back to the house and sleep. You'll feel better for it, trust me. You'll be awake and fresh, and will be sharper for it."

Keith was silent and his gaze shifted to the side in thought.

"Plus, it'll assure our friends who are waiting for us to hear that both Pidge and Matt are alright. Keith, please, just do this for me." Shiro gave a small smile.

Matt sighed. "I promise I'll tell you and everyone else everything. Just, give me some time. I need sleep." He ran a hand down his face.

Keith glanced between the two and begrudgingly nodded. "Fine, but first thing in the morning." He looked pointedly between them.

"You got it. Now, go. I'll be right behind you." Shiro relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief and eased in his stance.

Another curt nod and Keith left the two.

Instead of going out of the hospital, he decided to find Pidge instead. With a glance in one direction and another, he meandered through the halls until he saw the room where they were observing Pidge. There were other people in the room, but she was off in the corner.

Ducking into the room, he made his way to her bedside. Looking down on her, unconscious and hooked up to an IV with gauze and an assortment of bandages from the accident, she looked worse for wear. But she was alive.

Crouching so he was level with her, he rested his arms on the often-washed sheets, his chin on his forearm. Even though he wasn't sure if she could hear him or not, he whispered, "I'm glad you're alright, Pidge."

He reached out and took her hand in his.

And he _knew_.

Regardless of whatever future they had in store, he hoped that he could do it with her, with this girl named Katie Holt.

Keith left Pidge after he heard the nurses' staff change. He headed out of the hospital and to where he had parked his motorcycle outside. Staring up at the night sky with his hands in his pocket, there was a feeling of acceptance and understanding that his life wasn't just his life anymore.

It was Pidge's and…

He closed his eyes, his chest aching that he took another ragged breath.

Shiro was right. It was a lot to process in a day. His emotions were rubbed raw from so much use. After putting on his helmet, he gave one lingering glance back at the hospital and then sped off.

* * *

The next morning, Keith managed to wake up early feeling more rested than he had expected to be.

Still, it was an exhausting day yesterday, and he thought he would have slept in more.

Heading down the stairs, he could hear the ocean waves crash against the shore in the distance. No one was awake, and there was a sense of peace that had settled over the vacation home. He couldn't tell if anyone else was awake so when he was making some breakfast, the footsteps that came after surprised him.

"Oh, good morning, Keith."

He turned, watching as Allura finished drying off her hair. She pulled up a chair and tucked her hair up into a hair clip. "Mmm, it smells good."

Keith quirked a small smile. "It's nothing like Hunk's, but it'll get the job done."

Allura reflected the same small smile. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Breakfast then?" he asked.

She gave an appreciative nod.

There was a silence that fell over them as Keith concentrated on the breakfast that he had initially intended to make just for himself, but decided to add an extra portion of eggs and pancakes for Allura.

"Pidge came back this morning," Allura began quietly.

He stilled in his cooking, staring resolutely at the pan in front of him.

"She's fine, Keith."

He stiffly nodded.

"She asked for you."

He closed his eyes. He reopened them seconds later and focused on the task at hand.

For another few minutes, there was more silence as Keith resumed cooking and the tension slowly eased out of him.

When the meal was set down on their respective plates in front of him, Allura spoke up once more.

"Keith, she asked for you," Allura repeated. "And while she might be nervous to speak with you of the—"

"No, I get it." Keith shook his head, placing both of his hands on the kitchen island countertop. "Pidge and I have a lot of talking to do." His gaze lifted from the food to Allura. "While I appreciate the help you and everyone else is willing to give, I think this is something we need to talk about before either of us is okay with talking about this with everyone of what we want to do…" Or maybe, even just what Pidge wanted to do.

The thought that Pidge thought of him wanting anything else than a child caused an ache in his chest.

"Thanks, Allura, I do appreciate it, but I have feeling Pidge had already made up her mind on what she wanted to do, whether or not I'm a part of it or not," he said quietly.

Suddenly losing his appetite, he began cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. There had been no opportunity for him to talk with Pidge at all since she dropped the news and quite frankly, he was tired of everyone asking him if he was alright.

After the kitchen was cleaned up, he went out on the run around the beach.

With all that's happened, honestly, Keith wanted some peace, and it was only on that run that he finally stopped just _thinking_. But his mind wandered, remembering the first time he met Pidge. The coffee shop where Shiro had insisted that Keith would enjoy himself and make a friend with Matt's sister. At the time, he couldn't care less of the friends he made and only wanted to mess around with the dirt bike that he had finally saved enough to ride.

A skinny girl of fourteen, he remembered, with sharp eyes and a bored look was made apparent. She had no intentions of hiding it. Still, when he sat down across from her and then she asked if he wanted to play her in a game she had just downloaded on her phone, he had nothing to lose.

At least, until she creamed him and it sparked a competitive drive to kick her butt.

Which, he did, two matches later in a landslide that had Pidge huffing in frustration. But, that was all they did. They didn't talk about themselves in any way and wouldn't really until they both started to attend Altea University. It was unusual since they were neither friends nor were they strangers.

By then, he had known her for a few years but didn't so much as know a thing about her aside from rumors (which he disregarded) and what he's heard from Shiro.

He didn't realize how much time had passed (or how far he had gone) that it made heading back to the vacation home twice as long as it should have. So, by the time he got back, he found only Pidge sitting in the living room with her knees pulled up to her chest with a bowl of chips next to her.

Keith tried his best to ignore the immediate heart leaping into his throat upon seeing her. Relieved she was awake and about, yes, but trying to converse with her after their confrontational argument yesterday was something he hadn't entirely thought through. While he had run the conversation through his head when he was on his run, still, to be confronted with it so soon, Keith wasn't sure if he was ready.

On the television screen was a paused movie and she bore a pout on her face.

"Pidge."

She stiffened and turned her head. Giving a weak wave, Keith lifted a brow. "Where'd everyone go?"

"Oh." She blinked in surprise and glanced around. "Coran and Allura went to sort out details that have to deal with the house; Shiro, Lance, and Hunk went to grab some supplies since we're apparently out of stuff. Matt went to talk to mom and dad about the car and the insurance company about it."

Pidge shrugged and munched on another chip.

He rested his hands on his hips. "And I take it they just left you here."

She rolled her eyes. "No, of course not, Matt's upstairs on the phone."

They were dancing around the subject. Small talk—stuff Keith's ordinarily terrible at doing.

"I'll go get washed up and join you," he said after a few minutes of awkward silence had passed.

It was when he started going up the stairs did Pidge finally speak up.

"Hey, Keith?"

He paused, turning his head to face her. "Yeah?"

"Thanks." She met his gaze with a heartfelt smile. "Thanks for coming to find Matt and me."

Keith nodded. "Glad I could help."

There was a weight that lifted, ever so slightly, off his shoulders as he washed up. Even when he headed back down to find Matt sitting with Pidge, he discovered that it was as if nothing had happened. Soon enough, all of their other friends began to file back in with their raucous as they bickered about food and the rest of the vacation. Pidge had to get up when Lance crashed and rolled into the couch that she and Matt were sharing.

Everyone was settling in for the spontaneously made movie time that Allura had just announced moments ago. While Keith noted the few concerned glances shot in Pidge's and Matt's direction, what he observed was the subtle changes in everyone's demeanor around Pidge. It wasn't evident to anyone who had a passing glance over them, but he could surmise that it was possible they all had a chance to talk to Pidge when he had gone on his run. There was more of a relaxed and comforting atmosphere compared to last night.

Eventually, the room was dark, there were snacks, and everyone settled into the couches.

Somehow, in all of this, Pidge had settled on Keith's lap with Matt at her feet with the lame excuse of the lack of sitting space. Hunk was sitting with Lance on the other loveseat with Shiro, Allura, and Coran on the bigger couch.

Maybe ten minutes in, Keith's arms eventually settled on Pidge's lap, and she adjusted to rest against his chest. His arm was across her lap and rested lightly on her hip while the other partially used as a backrest with how she curled up against him.

With the movie loud as it was, Pidge whispered just loud enough for him to hear her, "I'm keeping the baby."

He glanced down.

She didn't so much as look up at him, but her eyes glued to the screen.

"Good."

Her frame tensed. Keith's arm used as a backrest ran a hand down her back and stopped.

"We'll talk later."

He knew without even looking to see that Pidge had smiled, but what had caused his smile was when Pidge lifted his hand from her lap and pressed the palm against her currently flat abdomen.


	13. Together

**Summary** :

With the police looming over their future, Pidge hesitantly tries to figure out her place with Keith.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Together**.

Pidge wasn't surprised that even after that quiet plea in the car, Matt didn't have the heart in him to tell them about the police's involvement. Later, after the movie and when they were lounging around on the beach building sandcastles and burying Hunk and Shiro in the sand, Matt sat down next to Pidge while everyone else was off playing in the water with a frisbee.

"I'll tell you that the brakes cut with a purpose," Matt had stated quietly. His gaze was watching the others splash each other instead of using the frisbee. Keith shook his head, and Lance immediately took a bucket that they were using for sandcastles earlier and dumped water on the other. With a scowl, he immediately took the frisbee he was holding to make a big splash at him in return.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out when you were trying not to panic when we were going at fifty-five miles per hour," Pidge had retorted. But her voice softened, so she didn't sound so harsh. "What else is there?"

"Not much else," Matt said with a shrug. "They asked me a bunch of questions about the people that we know and if it was possible if anyone could hold a grudge against us."

"And this can't be shared with everyone else?"

Matt shook his head. "I would, but it'd spoil the vacation. They'd ask questions, bounce theories, and probably forget the fact we're on vacation. Lance, Hunk, and Keith took time off work so they could specifically come out here. Shiro has to work and train the moment he gets back and Allura has this huge corporate thing she needs to attend before the semester starts again."

Pidge could see his point. With how everyone was, there was no doubt in her mind they'd forget everything to make sure that both of them were safe and would root out every scenario before they'd let themselves relax again. And as much as she had her questions to ask, she knew that this was the calm before the storm and the only sense of peace that any of them would have before the next semester of school rolled around.

Matt was right, in the end, as much as she hated to admit it, but that didn't mean she'd keep her mouth shut when someone finally wanted the same kind of answers she wanted.

While there was an underlying tension of questions that demanded answers, they tried to push past the issue and have fun while they could. And for the most part, it worked.

It wasn't until they were packing and had to use a rental car that Allura finally had enough. Since, for the most part, Pidge had kept relatively quiet about the whole situation.

"Alright, spill," Allura demanded the moment they were all standing outside and preparing to get into their cars.

"Allura, this—" Shiro tried to stop her.

"No, I need to know what kind of mess we're getting into." She crossed her arms. "This silence and waiting it out and finding out when we get back is ridiculous. Why were the police asking us questions about your car accident?"

Keith stopped packing the car to turn and lean against the car. Pidge stood just off to the side of him and sighed.

"I want to know before we drive off in our cars that could be endangering all of us."

Matt shook his head. "Hunk, Keith, and I went over every inch of all the cars, and they're—"

"We might as well talk about it, Matt," Pidge said. "If they know, it might just be easier for us."

Matt pinched the bridge of his nose before looking up at the sky. He straightened and placed his hands on his hips. "You asked for this, Allura, but I don't think any of you will be happy with what I've been trying to avoid since we're still on vacation."

"At this point, I don't think we care so much," Lance pointed out. "I mean, yeah, it's great that you're caring about us and our time off from whatever it is we have in our lives, but this is more important than that. It's you guys."

"Well, out with it—we're all dying to know," Coran said.

Matt exchanged a glance with Pidge and Shiro before sighing again with a look of "why me" written all over it.

For the next ten minutes, Matt explained in a quick—but as detailed—account of what happened. He recounted how the police came to him when he woke up and they had informed him of the brake lines being cut with a sharp object and with intent. After Matt had told them that neither he nor Pidge had any knowledge of anyone who would hold a grudge or have any motive against them, the police would apprise them if they had any other developments.

"And that's why you had to spend an hour looking over the cars?" Lance surmised.

Hunk crossed his arms. "Which is understandable, given what had happened already."

"But that doesn't change anything." Shiro shook his head. "Until they can find out more information—" Pidge was certain that Shiro was trying to become a cop himself, "—in their investigation, whatever it may be, there's nothing we can do but wait."

Even though he was saying one thing, his clenched hands and grim line of his mouth said another. Pidge knew he was just as frustrated as everyone else with the news that the brake lines had cut with intent for murder. He wanted to investigate the situation himself, but without the actual ability to do so, he was left with feeling as though they were children playing a game of detective.

And it was on that note that they drove home.

They were all dropped off and headed to their respective homes that they wouldn't see each other for another few days as they unpacked and cleaned.

* * *

July 20XX

Allura (11:58 AM): I can't quite help thinking…

Hunk (11:59 AM): As amazing as it would be for us to figure out who and why this person is threatening out friends, we can't really do much without bordering on illegal.

Hunk (11:59 AM): *our

Hunk (12:00 PM): No, it'd be illegal. So no!

Allura (12:00 PM): Hear me out!

Pidge quickly typed out her own reply, curious as to what theories Allura had.

Me (12:01 PM): Go for it.

She set her phone to the side and waited for the vibration of her phone to inform her of the verbose text message she would be getting from Allura. Begrudgingly, Pidge was texting her friends while in bed and was contemplating on some more sleep before she decided that some of her favorite games were in need of some playing. As she predicted, her phone _pinged_ its receiving a text.

Allura (12:05 PM): So, since we've been back, we couldn't think of who would potentially be a person that would have the necessary motive to hurt either Matt or Pidge, correct?

Matt (12:06 PM): I feel like you thought of someone.

Shiro (12:06 PM): I've come to the same conclusion, but it's an assumption without evidence.

Keith (12:06 PM): And who would that be?

Allura (12:07 PM): That boy that Pidge briefly dated wasn't happy with how they broke up, yes?

Shiro (12:08 PM): No, but it's a bold leap from possibly violent to murder.

Lance (12:09 PM): Why'd you think of him anyway?

Allura (12:10 PM): I'll have to explain why so when everyone's together again for our usual game night, I'll say it then.

Pidge sighed and flopped back into bed. Leave it to Allura to hold the suspense. With another sigh, she skimmed through her phone's texts and paused when she spotted Keith's thread. Remembering how it felt to have his hand on her abdomen, finding out that Keith was okay with the idea that she was keeping the baby, made her eyes rapidly blink.

Instead of merely just texting him, she impulsively called him.

He picked up on the fourth ring.

"This is Keith, go," he greeted, sounding a little out of breath.

"Hey," she said with a small smile.

There was a small moment of registering her voice that she could hear in the silence that followed. When he spoke, it sounded almost softer than she had ever heard him before. "Hey, Pidge, what's up?"

"Nothing really, but what are you doing? You sound out of breath."

"Was trying to put together the engine that my shop's been working on for the last couple of weeks." He sounded annoyed and she snickered. "They apparently needed my help for the last bit so they left it untouched while I was gone." Pidge could see him rolling his eyes.

"So now you're stuck doing it?"

"Yeah, as much as I want to do anything else but this," he grunted, sounding as though he was moving something. "But what's up? You normally don't call, not to say that you don't call a lot or anything, but…"

"I just wanted to hear your voice. We haven't really had the time for us to just spend time together since the vacation."

There was a brief pause of silence before Keith spoke again. "I see," he chuckled. "I see you're resting well enough. How're you feeling?"

"Better, nowhere as sore as before, but better." Pidge smiled into the phone, enjoying the little small talk they were having. It was nowhere as awkward as when Keith had come back from his run, looking uncertain and wary since their argument. "The baby is fine too, from the sounds of it."

She could hear him inhale sharply in surprise, but he sighed in relief. "Good. Have you gone to see the obstetrician yet?"

"Not yet, and the next opening they had wasn't available for like the next two weeks," Pidge said with the slight shake of her head. She shifted to rolling onto her side, cuddling a pillow close to her chest. She was waiting to ask him this from the moment she had discovered she was pregnant. "Did you want to come with me?"

There was a long pause that followed and then he spoke, his voice sounding a little bewildered. "Yeah, I'll go with you."

"I'll text you the information then. But, Keith," she began softly, feeling apprehensive about the impending conversation she knew she had to have with him, "is this okay? Are you okay with this?"

"Pidge…"

"I know I sprang the news a little differently than how I had planned it, but—"

"We'd talk later, didn't I say?" His voice was painfully soft that Pidge couldn't help her heart from swelling in affection. "How about I meet you at my apartment after I get off, we'll have dinner together, and talk? I know we've been meaning to since we've gotten back, but we haven't really been able to. I spent the last few days thinking about you and what I wanted to say."

God, thank goodness no one could see her blushing. "Same here." Pidge sat back up, combing a hand through her hair in an effort to brush it. She placed a hand on her hot cheeks. "Then, are we okay?"

He chuckled. "We're more than okay, Pidge. Do you think we're okay?"

"More than okay," she agreed. "So, whatcha' gonna get me for dinner?"

"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" Keith sounded amused. "But are you craving anything?"

"Oh." That took her by surprise and she's struggling with the warmth that radiated from her chest. "Um, I don't think—"

He laughed again and she wasn't sure if she wanted him to ever stop. "No, Pidge, I just meant are you in the mood for anything? Because, cravings aside since I'm sure you'll get them later, I'm down for anything right now."

"Those burgers that one night you got for us was really good. Can you get those?"

There was a sound he was making that sounded like he was moving stuff around again. There was another voice in the distance that she heard him yell back, "Be right there!"

And then his voice was clear in her ear. "Yeah, definitely. I get off at the usual time so I'll catch you later."

"Looking forward to it!"

Their phone call ended with the sound of Keith chuckling.

* * *

To pass the time until she would see Keith, Pidge had gotten everything ready for the school year with her prepared projects and papers. She even worked on some of them before feeling more fatigued than she had expected to and it quickly became evening. While she was in no rush to reach Keith's apartment, she knew that the bike was out of the question when she didn't quite feel as though she was at 100% yet.

"Evening, Pidge." Allura flashed a smile at her before returning her attention to the papers that were strewn about the dining and breakfast table. She took the pen she was using and touched the top to her forehead in thought.

Pidge paused briefly from heading out. "Is that work from work?"

"Yes, it is," Allura answered absently.

"I'm heading out."

"Alright, I'll see you later then."

Whatever it was that Allura was working on was serious if she was as focused as she was. "Allura."

"Call me if anything happens."

"Allura."

"I'm not leaving for anywhere tonight, so I'll be available if you need me."

" _Allura_." Pidge sat down in front of her with her arms crossed and a raised brow. "What are you reading that has all of your attention?" She peered over at the papers, spying familiar names she didn't expect to see.

She frowned.

"Rick? What—"

"Oh, Pidge, I was going to share these with everyone tomorrow for game night," Allura resigned, not bothering to hide the papers in front of her. She rubbed her temples with her fingertips in a circular motion. "It's as Shiro said and it's frustrating."

Pidge crossed her arms and leaned forward on her elbows. "And you're trying to find ways to prove that he's wrong?"

"In a way, yes, but not so much as to prove him wrong, but more in the lines of trying to find who it was that had done such a terrible thing to you and Matt." She groaned. "I wanted to keep these hypotheses until tomorrow night and hear everyone's thoughts, but I'm debunking my theories myself before I even present them."

"Allura, that's what they are, theories. So even if you're wrong, telling us your thoughts doesn't necessarily mean it's right or wrong. Especially when we're trying to figure out motives." Though Pidge doubted that they would get anywhere too far. They were civilians and this was sounding a little out of their scope of abilities.

"So I thought this was work from work, but it's looking more like you're worried about this more than I am," Pidge said, glancing over the papers in front of Allura without reaching for a single sheet. She frowned, her lips pulled tight into a thin line. "I know this is something that is worth worrying about but trying to find someone that _might_ be a danger is as dangerous as looking through wolves' clothing to find only a sheep."

Allura leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "I'm surprised you're not more worried."

Pidge knew she should be, but what could she do? Hack into the police's database and see if she can do the investigation herself? She _could_ , but like Hunk said before, it'd be illegal and as much as it'd be great to go ahead and do so, she wasn't willing to risk _that_ much of her future. At the thought, she shifted to sitting properly and pressed a hand to her abdomen. _Their_ future, not just her future anymore.

"There's nothing we can do without us hiring private investigators ourselves," Pidge shrugged. "And besides, with Shiro already training to become an officer, maybe he'd help."

Allura held a hand to her chin in thought. "Perhaps," she sighed. "Alright, I'll push these aside for now and worry about actual work. I just want to make sure my friends are safe."

Pidge nodded, her hand tightening around her abdomen. For the unborn child in her abdomen, she couldn't risk it. She couldn't. Still, she reached forward to grab ahold of Allura's other hand. Allura lifted her gaze and shifted to turn her hand to tighten her their grasp. Her lips curled in an appreciation for the gesture.

And then she let go, hefted a deep sigh as if to expunge herself of negative thoughts and considerably brightened when she remembered what Pidge was saying minutes ago.

"Oh, you said you were going out. If you don't mind my asking, where are you headed to?"

Pidge fought down the urge to blush, and lost by averting her gaze.

"Oh ho, are you going to see Keith?" Allura said with a smirk.

"Allura, I swear, if you—"

"I won't. But," the young woman's smirk faded, "you and Keith haven't talked about the baby in proper, have you?"

Pidge slowly shook her head. "No, we haven't."

Allura leaned forward, putting a hand on Pidge's shoulder. "It'll be alright, Pidge, I know it'll be okay."

Pidge dropped her gaze to her belly, where her hand was and absently rubbed it. She didn't feel a bump quite yet and remembering the conversation she had earlier with Keith had eased some of her concerns. Still, this was a conversation she wasn't sure of the end result and was quite apprehensive.

"Come on, I'll drive you," Allura said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Thanks." And Pidge tried to smile, but her worries were eating her from the inside out. On the drive over, she closed her eyes and remembered the phone call from earlier. Trying to remember how soft his voice was, and the genuine affection she could hear in his tone of voice. How considerate he was when asking what they would like for dinner.

She sighed.

Allura dropped her off right outside of the apartment and she ascended the stairs. Feeling a bittersweet nostalgia, she remembered that the last time she had been here was after a confrontation that had ended with her giving him the key back. The key was symbolic, she reflected, and couldn't help the blush that overcame her cheeks then. It was as if they were already dating before even all of this had happened.

Pidge covered her face in embarrassment and sighed.

They were idiots, honestly.

That was when the door of the apartment next to Keith's opened and a petite and slender female appeared. She blinked, tilting her head with a small smile.

Pidge blinked.

She was the same height as she was, hair bleached a pale blonde pulled into a single long braid down her back. Fashionably dressed in a cute crop top with an adorable graphic of a unicorn and skinny light blue washed jeans and black ankle boots. With a small black purse slung over her shoulder, nodded her head and was about to leave.

But under her arm was what appeared to be a limited—

"Holy crap is that a limited edition run of the Space Adventures of Dexter?!" Pidge exclaimed and then seconds later, her hands clamping over her mouth shut at her words.

The girl smiled. "Yeah, it is."

Pidge removed her hands, eyes wide when the girl didn't seem disturbed by her sudden outburst. "Do-Do you mind if I see it? No, wait, sorry, that's really rude of me."

She giggled and held the book out. "You can take a look if you'd like, I don't mind."

When Pidge took the book in her hands, she could hear the angels in the sky singing and her world getting brighter. With her sparkling eyes, she poured over the book before she took the time to pause and turn to the girl. "How-How did you come by this?"

She looked thoughtful. "My family owns a bookstore, and when this was up for pre-orders, they were nice enough to get me a copy."

Bookstores were a rarity and yet, Pidge could appreciate it to have something like the actual thing in her hand. And it was amazing. The writer was only selling limited runs due to their own self-funding and it went viral that pending next year, would be selling more. For now, only the limited edition first runs was all anyone had.

"Is it possible if I could—"

"If you want to borrow it, you can." Her eyes glinted with amusement. "So long as you promise me to take good care of it."

Nodding vigorously, she said, "Oh, I will! Jeezus, I finally get to read this series! Thank you so much!"

"No problem, but, are you out here waiting long?"

Pidge shook her head, precariously sticking the book into her backpack. "I'm just waiting for my bo—"

And then her voice stuttered to a halt. Was Keith her boyfriend at this point?

"Oh, Keith, right?"

Pidge nodded, stumped that she didn't know whether or not Keith and she were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Labels didn't feel quite right since this whole pregnancy business happened. Maybe if she weren't, then it'd be an entirely different story.

"Keith normally comes home around this time so you should see him soon. Do you want me to stay out here with you?"

"Oh, no, it's okay." Pidge quickly shook her head, trying to grasp for what was her calmness despite being caught off-guard by seeing a pretty girl.

"I don't mind. Pardon my intrusion—my friends are coming to get me anyway." She flashed a smile and moved to sit at the top of the stairs.

It was strange to share the top of the stairs with a girl that she recalled Lance talking about once. It was even stranger to meet someone who was so overly friendly like this. But then, she started the conversation so it was too late now.

After a moment of contemplation, Pidge slowly sat down beside her and noted the three recognizable silver bangles on her wrists. If she remembered properly, the girl next to her was a talented classmate who majored in forensics at the university. She was close to graduating and Lance had commented that it didn't quite match her outward appearance.

"How long you've been here?" Pidge couldn't help but ask after a moment, feeling a pang of jealousy when the words were out in the open. She was pretty and she'd look really good next to Keith. The thought was quickly shoved aside, but the feeling remained.

Pidge honestly thought she was over this.

"Only a few months," she promptly answered. Pidge mentally noted that it was as long as Keith and Pidge had been more or less "seeing" each other. She pulled out her phone and began to text back a reply before locking the screen again. She turned to face Pidge. "He's really lucky to have you as a girlfriend. I mean, that's why you'd be waiting outside of his apartment, right?"

"Gi-Gi-Girl— _What?_ " Flustered and with her head spinning in bewildering surprise, Pidge stammered incoherently. Hearing it come from a complete stranger was mind-boggling. It was a word she hadn't even become accustomed to, especially since this was Keith and she hadn't even realized she had feelings for him until just recently.

She giggled. "It's okay, you know, I think you're quite cute together."

Flabbergasted, the girl continued without waiting for Pidge to try and speak.

"I saw you two once when you were coming back from class. I was just leaving the apartments but you were just coming back. You had an air about yourselves that just seemed right that you'd be together." She grinned.

The girl's named escaped Pidge. For the life of her, she couldn't remember this amazing girl's name who was showering her in compliments and blowing away what little she had of her insecurities.

She leaned forward on her knees, long hair rolling to the side as she continued to smile. "So I thought you two were together." But then her smile faded. "But then I stopped seeing you coming around so I wondered if you two had an argument. It doesn't seem to be the case now since you're back again."

Pidge finally found her voice.

"Yeah, I am," she said with a nod.

"Good," the pretty girl said. "Whenever he's not home, you're welcome to knock on my door, okay? I'm usually home so don't be afraid to do so since this area can be a little sketchy at times. I've seen you around and I think you're pretty neat."

Neat? Who said that nowadays? Still, the kindness of a stranger who lived next to Keith was… quite something.

"You're Pidge right?"

"Yeah," Pidge said with another blink. Did she say her name at one point? Did Keith? "How did you—"

"You're Matt's sister."

She did a double take. "Wait, you know Matt?"

"I do, he shares a class with me and is my partner in my labs."

"You're partners with Matt? Did you get assigned with him or—?" Pidge couldn't imagine a pretty girl being partners with her brother, especially since he turned into a weirdo once when she brought Allura over. He was fine now, but it was very typical of him whenever a pretty girl was near.

"I am, yes, and he's quite funny."

And she thought he was funny. It was starting to feel surreal.

"And I did, yeah, at the beginning of the semester. I was running late, and Matt was kind enough to take me for a partner."

Pidge couldn't help but think that it was probably a no-brainer for him. At least now, she had ammo to tease her brother with, something that felt like sweet sibling privilege.

"And you look like him, so I'm glad that it was a good guess."

"Yeah, a really good guess," Pidge said with a small smile. "Thanks for being my brother's partner though. I know he can be a little… weird." Matt might want to kill her for saying that to a pretty girl, especially, if he was already talking to her.

"It was my pleasure! And I don't think him any more strange than anyone with unique hobbies, wouldn't you say?" She glanced down at her phone and stood up to standing. They both glanced to the street to see a car and a motorcycle heading down the street toward their location. "Well, my ride is here and it looks like Keith is here. It was nice talking to you."

"Thanks for keeping me company."

The pretty girl grinned and descended the stairs.

"Oh hey! What's your name? Sorry, I didn't catch it."

The young woman turned where she stood on the sidewalk and shouted up, "Jazz!" Afterward, she waved with a smile and headed to a familiar car that pulled up.

Pidge squinted.

Wasn't that Matt's rental car…?

She shifted to standing, moving so that she walked onto Keith's balcony in front of his apartment. While they were four floors up, still, Pidge could tell from the car build and figure out whether or not it was his car. But it was late and the car only briefly lit up from the interior lighting and then they were off.

* * *

It was another few minutes before Keith ascended the stairs with a bag of food. Keith glanced up from looking through his keys to find Pidge waiting for him. "Oh, hey, sorry I was running a little late. The food kept me a little longer than I thought it would."

"It's cool, Keith," she said with the shake of her head. She rose to stand with her hands in her pockets. "But, uh, have you met your neighbor?"

He found the key for his apartment and slid it into place, unlocking his apartment and flicking on the lights. Once the door was closed behind them, Keith slid off his shoes, dropped off his bag and helmet on an area behind the couch, and went into the kitchen. "Once, when she moved in, but after that, I rarely saw her. Why?" He saw her only once and she had her hair under a baseball cap, wore a hoodie and jeans and was nice, at the very least. After that, he never really saw her again.

"I met her just now." Pidge moved to sit at the little table set up, where there were papers strewn about it in a sort of disorganized chaos. He pulled the food out from the bags and cleaned the papers off the table and set enough of them off to the side for them to eat.

Once he's pulled the burgers out and set them on plates with napkins and drinks, he sat down across from her. "And this is important because?" Keith didn't find this important, but it felt as though Pidge had a point and he furrowed his brows in confusion. He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back into the chair.

When she took a moment longer than he expected to respond, he decided to start eating.

She sighed. "I don't know; I guess I just felt jealous that a pretty girl lived next to you and you could've had this cute neighbor romance or something."

Keith tried his best not to choke on his food.

It's only when he's finally managed to drink some water from the food that was set out before him that he's incredulous. "No? Why would I? I mean, the one time I saw her when she was moving in was cool and all, but neither of us ever tried to make good friends with each other. You know, aside from checking in for each other's packages when we got an online order, but even then, we just left notes on each other's doors."

Since he didn't have her number, it was the easiest way to communicate with someone who lived near him. And, she always seemed home, so it was easier to leave messages that way than to not really trust his neighbor.

Pidge wrinkled her nose.

"Pidge, that was all. I don't—" Keith took a breath, looked down at his hands that he had now set aside the food, and continued, "Look, I told you, since that night at the nightclub, I've never looked at anyone else, but you." His gaze lifted to hers. "I've only wanted you."

It was a confession he hadn't planned on making, but there it was. Keith had planned on something a little more… eloquent than that, but this was what it was.

Only, their mood was interrupted when her stomach chose this as the time to growl loud enough for Keith to hear it. He laughed.

"Let's just eat first and then we'll talk, okay?"

After she gave a nod, they quickly finished their meal, interspersed with a conversation that would tell him of Pidge's day (and his own). Their conversation idled into things that had occurred in the chatroom text message with Hunk and Lance, something that either of them had mentioned that was worth sharing since Keith had been at work all day. Once their meal finished, they settled on the couch and turned the television to some movie that they both had already seen. Pidge popped a candy into her mouth and silently offered one to him, but declined.

He leaned back and tried to ignore that his arm would rest behind Pidge. Were they at that point where he could casually pull her to him? It was a little weird. Especially in consideration of how Pidge had ended up on his lap on vacation with their friends around them, but now that they were in a private setting, he's awkward.

But then, he frowned. What did that make them? Were they officially boyfriend and girlfriend? The very idea of labeling themselves as such felt weird with how far their relationship seemed to have gone.

"Keith."

"Yeah?" Saved by the bell. The one arm that was wondering if it should rest behind Pidge or not was lifted and started scratching the back of his head.

But Pidge's gaze was on the television. It was like the night when they were watching the movies with their friends. Keith readjusted himself.

"What are we?"

Keith frowned.

"We're not exactly boyfriend-girlfriend, but we're not friends either," Pidge tried to reason, sounding as though she was more talking aloud that she was talking to him. Still, he crossed his arms in thought. She was right, after all, considering they had scarcely established that they were together on vacation.

"And we haven't _changed_ from how we were before." She shook her head. "What does that mean for our—our—" Instead of saying the word, her hands went to her abdomen.

"It just means they're going to have the both of us," Keith said softly.

Her eyes flit to him in surprise, eyes wide when he spoke those words aloud. He knew he was going to have to one day tell Pidge about his family and how he came to be with Shiro. Still, it was a memory he wished he didn't need to rehash, but for the sake of clarity and for Pidge to understand the gravity of what that unborn child meant to him, he needed to.

"Yeah, they are," Pidge whispered.

His gaze was focused on something irrelevant on his lap, refusing to look at her to see any sort of expression. Talking about his family and reasons was always a complicated emotion he had to navigate, one he had the utmost difficulty. It brought up memories and memories made him… distant.

"Whatever we are, Pidge, we're together, labels notwithstanding," Keith said. He leaned forward onto his knees. "And that's going to be how it works for us." He rubbed the back of his neck with his hands.

Keith lifted his head to Pidge when she shuffled over and wrapped her arms around his torso. Her head moved, nodding, and he couldn't help the curling of his lips.

"Yeah, to me, I think you're more than just a boyfriend," she murmured. "We've been through so much that it doesn't feel right to call ourselves that."

Keith mused that one day, they'd be together in more ways than one, although, the thought of marriage currently terrified him. It wasn't so much the idea of commitment that scared him, but the idea of a future that he can scarcely see beyond next week. Despite the fact that he feels as though he nearly lost Pidge in that car accident, and seeing her in such a state made him hurt all over again, was an overwhelming moment and he still needed time to process everything that had happened thus far.

Still, he knew he couldn't lose her.

Pidge snickered. "I guess that means we gotta go on an actual date."

"And who says we aren't on one right now?"

She pulled away enough to smirk, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Oh? So dinner and a movie—" she gestured to the rerun of a movie they've both watched already and returned her arm to wrapping it around him, "—is very romantic."

"You want romantic?" His brows lifted. "I didn't know you're the romantic type."

"Excuse you," Pidge said with a frown. "I can do with some romance too."

He turned in his place to wrap his arms around her torso and lifted her from her place onto his lap. Sometimes, just sometimes, he forgot how petite she truly was until she was in his arms. "Though, I think it's already pretty romantic with us establishing that we're together, just us, and more than just boyfriend and girlfriend." His voice continued to drop as he spoke until it became a low murmur. His one hand lifted to cup her cheek and Pidge blushed. He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes lifted to hers.

"Sweet jeezus," she whispered breathlessly and closed her eyes.

Opening her eyes again, her hazel met with the dark violet. Her own hands lifted to his own cheeks and cupped them. With a pout, she mumbled, "I don't know how you just spout stuff like that without batting an eye."

He chuckled. "No, I don't think I can, but maybe it's just cause it's you. You make my heart at ease and so nervous, Pidge, even if it's racing like it is right now."

At his words, Pidge seemed to want to confirm them that her right hand slid down to his chest, resting right over his heart.

God, she was so soft in comparison to how he was.

She smelled of the raspberry shampoo she used this morning, the subtle fragrance of the lotion she used to moisturize, and the warmth of her own body teasing his senses. Held in his arms, with her hand on his chest, he wondered if it was possible for his heart to burst. Peering up at him, her cheeks flushed and a small crooked grin, made him wonder if he could hold back. His fingers tangled in her long hair and he hears her breathing hitch in surprise when they ascend up her back.

Pidge dropped her head against his shoulder. "Keith…"

He tightened his hold on her and she sighed. Shifting her arms, she lifted to wrap them around his neck. "Are you sure?" she asked, her voice sounding small. "I'm not… you know, pretty or super great. I won't be mad if you don't want me and just want to be the dad."

"Katie," he said gently, her body quivering under his embrace that he knew that this was what she wanted to talk about. The insecurity that came from that time on the beach coming back in full. It hurt to hear that she still questioned why he wanted to be with her, but he supposed that he had never been clear about it before.

"Like I said before, I want to be with you and learn and grow with you about what these feelings are. I know they're the strongest things I've ever felt for someone and with our own kid on the way, I know that you're the best person I can do this with. Because if it's with you, I know we can do this together."

Pidge started to blink rapidly, resisting the urge to cry.

"And besides, if you aren't around, who am I going to find to spend time with just to watch movies?"

"You know, Shiro is always down," she said with the curling at the corner of her lips.

"Yeah, but I'm not gonna bother him all the time—not when I got you."

"Sap."

"Nerd."

"I can't believe your heart is racing like this cause… mine's beating so fast too."

"I think I can make it go faster," Keith smirked.

Her brow lifted in question. "Oh?" And then that familiar lidded half-grin, half-smirk appeared. "And how are you going to do that?"

Without answering, he pressed his lips to hers.

Immediately, under the kiss, he could feel her body press against him eagerly. Her mouth opened under his silent request and he tasted the sweet strawberry candy she had eaten after dinner. Her fingers curled into his hair at the nape of his neck and with a slight tug, he groaned when her teeth grazed his lower lip. She adjusted herself, lifting her leg so that she straddled him while they continued to press and kiss each other.

"Pidge," he murmured, "bedroom?"

"God, yes."

When she leaned forward again to give him another kiss, he smirked against her lips.

By the time he had placed her on his bed, he had noted the hungry way her eyes had drunk him in as he stripped. "You look like you're going to eat me," he said with a laugh.

"But what if I am?" she replied huskily.

His eyes glinted with challenge, heat, and desire.

"Not if I eat you first," he countered.

A wicked grin was all that came after that, and he pressed himself against her on top of the bed. Her slender frame wrapped around him with her arms, meeting kiss with every breathless kiss for another one. Pidge moaned softly into his ear when he began to pepper her neck with kisses. Fingers dug into his back and his grip dropped slightly, pressing against her with more of his weight that she sighed again.

He slid his hand down her side to her rear and then skirted around to underneath the skirt she wore. Whispering into her ear, his lips grazing it and his voice low that he could feel her wiggle underneath him, "It was nice of you to wear a skirt for me."

"It's— _ah_ —not for you," she managed in between moans.

And then his finger ran down to her most sensitive area that was covered by her panties, and she arched her back in surprise. He had been wanting to do this for _months_ since he realized his feelings for her, the desire mounting every time she came near. To have her writhe and moan under his ministrations was giving him hunger he didn't know he had.

It's only when he inserted one, _two_ , fingers into her wet heat that she really began to try and stifle her moans. She was sweet, flushed and sensitive to his touch, that Keith had a hard time focusing on anything else besides Pidge. So soft, so quick, and so eager to meet him with a challenge of her own that by the time she had drenched his fingers, he was thoroughly aroused.

They finished undressing, and he pressed against her once more.

"Keith, don't you want me to—"

"No, I can't wait," he rasped hoarsely.

He pressed the tip against her, and she tried her best not to squirm but failed. He had to grip her hip to keep her in place, and he groaned when he could feel her heat and slickness coating him. She wrapped her legs around his hips in an attempt to steady herself.

"Oh hell," Pidge gasped when he slowly began to slide himself into her.

Their skin was covered in a thin veil of sweat, Keith partially in restraint as to not pound into her like an animal, and the other so that he wouldn't combust right then and there. She was so tightly wrapped around him that it took a lot of effort. But that didn't stop Pidge from crying out when he finally stopped moving, her back arching, and her fingers digging into him again. Just like that night, she was tight and hot around him that feeling her clench down on him when she was coming had his entire frame tense.

Tears formed at the edge of her eyes that he had the pads of his thumbs wipe them away.

With a lazy chuckle, he murmured, "That good?" And he pressed a kiss to her lips.

She could only nod mutely, too busy trying to catch her breath that her efforts to kiss him back stirred him to move. It's honestly a pity she won't get to take a breath.

And he began to move.

Pidge tried to stop him from moving, still sensitive from the previous orgasm that she was awash with incoherent nonsense and muffled moans. Soon, he began to pick up speed that words weren't exchanged and instead were their grunts and groans. In and out he went, and the sounds that reverberated in the room had hiked Pidge up to another level when she cried out again.

He could barely keep track. But her orgasm tightened around him and he had to kiss Pidge to keep himself from his own. Her fingers combed through his hair, tugging slightly on his hair for better angles on their kisses. All the while, she bit on his lower lip from how she shook. As if in retaliation, he buried his face into the crook of her neck, ran his lips over her neck that she quivered and bit down enough without marking her. Her cry of surprise was enough to send him over.

Keith's chest was heaving, shifting to rest on his elbows. Pidge had a lazy smirk on her face when she lifted her hands to caress his cheek. She pulled herself up to press another kiss on his lips before her smile faded as the high began to wane.

"Keith," she began in a soft voice.

He waited, wondering what she wanted to say.

"I'm sorry."

And his heart lurched. But he knew why. He remembered why.

And he didn't want her to think she was alone in this "mistake."

Instead of responding with a word, he withdrew and pushed himself back in. She yelped and blinked in incredulously. "Wh—"

"We're both equal parts at fault for that," he said with a grunt. And Pidge shuddered when he gave another thrust. "So I'm sorry too."

"Keith—"

"We're both at fault."

" _Fuck_."

"Damn straight I am."

Pidge's laughter melted into moans for the rest of the night.

* * *

 **Author's Note** :

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ


	14. Slowly

**Summary** :

Pidge struggles to deal with a growing danger that begins to endanger the rest of her friends in the midst of trying to find some good in all of the bad. Keith has to think about the future and finally confesses one of his secrets.

 **Author's Note** :

The arrangements of how this story is currently going in all kinds of ways that I hadn't entirely planned, but it's something.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Slowly**.

When the morning came, Pidge could only lazily roll around in bed to blearily look at the time.

9:17 AM.

She flopped back with a groan and looked around the bedroom. Keith wasn't sleeping in bed, but she could faintly smell the mouthwatering scent of sausages, eggs, and, _goodness_ , pancakes. Rolling out of bed with a soft sigh, she padded into the bathroom and found a brand new bottle of shampoo and conditioner (the same one she had at home) and body wash sitting on the counter.

Trying to ignore the fact her heart skipped a beat at his thoughtfulness; Pidge took that as a sign that he knew her morning routine. (Though, after what happened last night, this was a pleasant surprise.) After her shower (and checking over for any love bites left behind on her skin and found that there was only a few in places she could hide), she heard her phone ping, notifying her of a new text message. Wrapping a towel around her head, she made her way over and picked up her phone, only to find Allura's teasing in the messages.

Allura (11:13 PM): I see that since you've yet to call me that you want to come home that you will be staying the night at Keith's.

Allura (11:13 PM): ;^)

Allura (8:10 AM): Good morning! I think after your sleepover you should come home.

Allura (8:11 AM): After Keith shagged you and all, you must need some change of clothes.

Allura (8:12 AM): ;^))))

Allura (8:39 AM): You know, Keith is so considerate. Super cute. I highly approve.

"I swear to god, Allura," Pidge mumbled under her breath. The burn of her cheeks showed her embarrassment, and she was glad her best friend couldn't see it. But it's possible that both Shiro and Allura were going to be teasing them non-stop tonight when they come over for game night.

With a sigh, she typed up her reply.

Pidge (10:42 AM): You know, teasing me about this isn't making me want to tell you anything.

Pidge (10:42 AM): At all.

Allura (10:42 AM): What?! Why not? :(

Allura (10:43 AM): I only jest. Please, Pidge?

Pidge (10:43 AM): I'll think about it.

Victorious, Pidge put down her phone just as Keith popped his head in. When his eyes connected with hers, a smile crept onto his face. "Oh, you're up; breakfast is ready," he greeted.

"Hey, yourself," Pidge greeted back. "I'll be there in a second."

With that said, Keith disappeared back out to the kitchen. Pidge finished drying off and pulled on one of Keith's clean t-shirts. Satisfied that it came to her upper thighs, she headed out to breakfast.

* * *

A few hours later, Pidge's phone began to blow up when she was comfortably resting at home in her apartment. Allura wasn't home to tease her, thankfully, and Keith had to do something with work before being free for the afternoon and the rest of the evening. It was about 1:49 PM and the television was on with one of her favorite tv shows.

The little phone slipped out of her hand in surprise by how frequently it began to vibrate. The jingle that she had set for the notifications was barely able to keep up as one kept coming after another.

It dropped underneath the couch, and she irritably grumbled as she was forced to get on her knees and bent down to find where her vibrating phone had gone off to. About a minute passed when the phone finally stopped vibrating, but Pidge found it just seconds after. Groping for it, she stilled when she suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise in caution.

Her heart was racing in her chest as she slowly pulled herself back to her seat and her gaze darted around the room. There was nothing out of place, and nothing had made a noise loud enough to startle her. And yet, she felt like she was being watched. It was a familiar sensation that she had felt before and she tightened her grip on her phone, quickly recalling the terrifying incident back at the vacation home.

Slowly rising to stand, she ignored the messages on her phone and pressed the dial button of whoever was the most recent in her phone.

"Hey Pidge, what's up?" her brother's familiar voice eased whatever frayed nerves she had, even though the feeling of being watched had yet to fade.

"Matt," she began, her voice low, "I think someone's in my apartment."

The feeling was the same and with how small the apartment was, she could either book it out the door or climb out onto the balcony.

There was a heavy pause before he spoke again, and his voice matched her tone. "What do you mean?"

She laughed when the television had a "funny" moment on screen and tried her best to plop back down onto the couch. The very idea of pretending to be normal in this situation made her skin crawl, and she had to bite down the urge to run. Pidge got up from the couch to head into the kitchen, relieved to find no one there, but her urge to beat the shit out of whoever was watching her was compelling. Anger pooled in the pit of her stomach.

Matt seemed to have understood her silence in responding, and while the phone call was ongoing, Pidge suffered the next ten minutes of the show broadcasted on the television. It was to make it seem like she was paying attention to it instead of the intruder. Finally turning it off as if she had planned to do so without any concerns, she prepared to leave the house like she was leaving for game night and left. It was only when she was on her bike and zooming away from the apartment did the hair-raising feeling finally fade.

It disappeared altogether when she rode to the police station; the very same station that she knew where Shiro was training. She pulled out her phone to find Matt still on the line.

"May I help you, miss?" the police officer at the front desk greeted her.

She stowed the bike off to the side and walked over to him with her phone in hand. "Can I see if Shiro is in? Oh, um, I meant officer Shirogane."

The police officer nodded. "Yeah, he's in—just finished his rounds. Wait here." The officer left his desk and disappeared around the corner where she could see an assortment of desks arranged with chairs and file cabinets.

Lifting her phone to her ear, she sighed. "Thanks, Matt."

"No problem," he said. "But, are you okay?"

She resisted the urge to touch her abdomen.

"I'm okay now. I'll talk to Shiro and see if I can hang out with him for the rest of the day. Or until Keith or Allura get off work before we head over for game night."

There was a pause. "Alright, if you say so Pidge. I'll go check out your apartment in the meantime and see if anything's up."

"Thanks, Matt."

"Anything for my little sis," he said in a light and teasing tone. "Gotta make sure you're safe, though, I know, you could probably handle yourself if push comes to shove."

Pidge didn't want a mess in their apartment. But now, it felt as though her apartment—that was her home—was violated in some way that she wasn't sure if she could go back without feeling safe. However, the idea that the intruder got to do as they please irked her. Especially if they were just doing this because they found this _fun_ and that angered her.

"Yeah. When are you going to swing by?"

"Probably in like an hour—Allura said she wouldn't be getting off for another two though."

"I'll open the door for you." Pidge moved to sit down on one of the benches by the front desk of the police station. "Call me when you're heading over and I'll head over too."

"Sounds good. Stay safe until then, okay?"

"Of course."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

And Pidge hung up the phone just as Shiro was walking out with apprehension. When he realized that it was Pidge, his brows rose in question, but then he quickly frowned. She stood up to meet him halfway.

"Pidge, what's up?" He placed his hands on his hips, concern evident in his tone. "No, actually, come with me."

She followed him without question and they went to a room that was off to the side of the many desks in an arranged order for the officers. The room was isolated from the rest of the office, but it had windows that looked out to the rest of the office. Shiro slid the thick and grey blinds closed for privacy on all the windows and leaned against the table in the room. The room itself had a large table, dark wood in color with about three grey chairs on either side that sat across from the other side. There was a plastic leafy plant in the corner that brushed just shy of the ceiling. A fluorescent light lit the room from the center and there was a small lamp sitting on a slender table that went from corner to the corner by the door.

Pidge leaned against the large conference table in the center of the room, fingers holding the smartphone in her hands as reassurance and comfort. She didn't totally relax until the shades were all covered and it was just her and Shiro in the room.

He waited patiently for her to explain why she was here and the moment she finished, he had his hand on his chin in thought with his other arm across his chest. "I don't get off until later this evening, and I can't just leave, unfortunately, but I'll let my supervisor know and look into it."

She nodded, looking down at her hands and phone that rested against her thighs. "Thanks."

"Hey, we'll get to the bottom of this," he assured, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her gaze lifted to the taller. "It'll just take some time."

Pidge nodded again. "I believe you, Shiro, but it just feels weird that I have no idea why this is happening. I don't know if it's something I did or—"

"We won't know until we can find out who's doing this and why." He shook his head, pulling out his phone. "Keith is on his way—I let him know of the situation so you would at least have someone with you until we all get together tonight. I believe Allura mentioned that she has something for us to discuss."

The smaller squinted. "Yeah, I read about it in the text, but..." If it had to do with the papers that were scattered on the table in the apartment last night, then she had an idea as to what Allura's discussion tonight was going to be.

Still…

"I guess we'll see. Oh, he's here now. I'll go grab him—sit tight."

Shiro left the room and Pidge released the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Creepy stalkers aside, she was beginning to wonder if this had anything to do with Rick. However, she hadn't heard or even seen him since the day they broke up. Even then, while he may have been prone to anger issues (and maybe even violent tendencies), he didn't seem to be the type to stalk. It took an exuberant amount of considerable patience to stalk someone and for them to go all the way out to the vacation home and here, seemed something that didn't feel quite right with him.

Taking out her phone, she decided to ask.

Pidge (2:16 PM): Hey, Allura, why were you looking into Rick?

When Allura didn't immediately respond, Pidge sighed. Maybe she was too occupied with her work to pay attention to her phone. After meeting up with Keith, Shiro had essentially handed off the "bodyguard" duties to Keith. Pidge headed out of the office and followed after Keith while she crossed her arms in thought. She came to a stop just by Keith's motorcycle when her phone vibrated.

Allura (2:29 PM): Because I remembered how angry he got when you were breaking up with him. I thought it was a viable motive for him to want to get payback.

"What's up?" Keith asked with a frown, holding his motorcycle helmet in his hands. He stood next to her, peering down with a quirked brow.

"Just trying to figure something out," she answered, already typing a reply back. "Hold on."

Pidge (2:30 PM): And how did that turn out?

Allura (2:31 PM): Not much, quite honestly. Surprisingly, my search on that had turned up relatively empty.

She frowned. So that's why Allura said her theories were coming up short, as Shiro had previously reasoned. Still, something didn't feel quite right.

Pidge (2:31 PM): You got nothing?

Allura (2:32 PM): Well, aside from reports that he spends a lot of time at the library and a few other places, he doesn't go out as much as I thought he would be.

Allura (2:32 PM): Come to think of it, he hung out with a group of people that were a little shady. I couldn't get information on them.

Pidge remembered the group of friends Rick hung out with, prior to them dating. The only reason why she remembered this at all was that she thought it strange how they seemed to keep away from the group activities on the school grounds. They were always nearby and seemed to like giving the other students the creeps.

Allura (2:33 PM): Why do you ask?

Pidge (2:33 PM): I don't think it's Rick. No offense to him, but I don't think he has the patience for this.

She locked her phone and lifted her gaze to see Keith's narrowed gaze. "I know that look."

Blinking, she touched her face in puzzlement. "What look?" she asked.

"You're about to do something dangerous."

How the frick—

"What are you—"

"Pidge, I've known you for like three years now, and if you think I'm dumb enough to not know how you are when you got an idea, you have another thing coming." He lifted a brow. "Out with it."

She crossed her arms in a huff. Unable to walk all the way to the school campus would be rough on her anyway, so she might as well go in with some backup. "Okay, so, I think I have an idea as to who it is that might be stalking me."

His brows shot up to his hairline. "Oh?" And then promptly narrowed. "Wait, don't tell me…"

"Yep."

"Pidge, you're just asking for a fight, or hell, make this worse. And you don't even know if they're the ones that _are_ stalking you in the first place." He frowned, setting his helmet on his lap.

"You don't understand—they broke into my apartment—the apartment that Allura and I have shared together for the last three years. What if Allura was also home? I mean, it's already one thing for them to break into the vacation home when it was just me home, but if there were anyone else?"

She could feel the rage building up in the pit of her stomach again. The heat and irritation that someone had broken into her home were coming back in full force. The danger of what Allura could be in, the danger of what _she_ could be in was near overwhelming. But the anger was near palpable when she realized that it was her _and_ the baby. They could've endangered the _baby._ Keith was safe the last time they invaded, but she drew the line at the baby.

"How do you know that these are the same people?" Keith asked evenly. But she could see the flicker of anger in his dark eyes, one that she recognized in one of their many arguments. For the first time, it wasn't directed at her or at himself.

"Then why is it always when _I'm_ alone in those places? Why was the car that Matt picked, at random, coincidentally made to fail?"

Keith didn't respond. Instead, he placed the helmet over his head and handed her the passenger helmet. "Get on—we're going to school."

Taking the helmet into her hands, she blinked, incredulous. "How do you know it's the school?"

"Because you glanced in the school's direction when I asked what sort of idea you got." He started the motorcycle, its engines roaring to life as he revved on the handlebar.

Without further debating on whether this was a good idea or not, Pidge shoved her head into the helmet and hopped onto the back of the motorcycle. After her arms wrapped around Keith's torso, he sped off.

By the time they arrived on campus, got off the bike and was walking around campus, Pidge was already out of steam. Where were they? Heck, even if she did find them, what on earth was she going to say to them in the first place? It was not like she had a concrete plan when she came back here to start a fight. She just wanted them to leave her alone and if all else, find out why they were bothering her so they could start leaving her alone.

Like what on earth did she do if she did anything at all?

"Do you even have a plan if and when you do find them?" Keith asked after a few minutes of walking around the campus.

Pidge twitched to a stop, squinting as she tried her best not to look back at Keith. After all, it was true that she didn't have a plan. It was as if he read her mind and she had to her best not to wince.

"You didn't have a plan, did you?" he sighed.

Pidge didn't answer and instead, started walking again. It was as though the very idea of just walking away from Keith would avoid the question. It was already nice enough that Keith drove her here, and it was already nice enough that he humored her the idea she had at all, even if it wasn't thought all the way through.

Now, he was just keeping her company at this point.

—x—

They ended up walking around the grounds a few times and they never found the people that Pidge seemed to be looking for. Despite the fact that she had described what they looked like, it was apparent that they weren't on the campus grounds. In a way, Keith was relieved that they wouldn't have to deal with a confrontation that Pidge didn't have a plan for.

But it seemed that fate decided that it would be fun otherwise.

After he suggested that they hit up the food court on school campus before they leave for the apartment, they began to browse the available options it had. Finally deciding on an order, Pidge wandered off to grab a table while he stood in line. Focused on his phone, Keith didn't notice a group of people approaching him and bumped into him.

He had hoped they would have side-stepped him, as most normal people would have.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Keith snapped.

"Why didn't you move out of the way?" the other retorted with the narrowing of their eyes. Their dark red hoodie covered their face, shoulders hunched and the contraction of his dark eyes.

"And why would I need to move out of _your_ way?" Keith asked, his hands clenching to fists.

"Hey, you're that punk ass that hangs out with Pidge," the one in a black jacket pointed out, leaning forward on his friend's shoulder.

His hands began to shake. Keith was trying his best not to let his hands do the talking and tried to focus on calming himself. But that didn't mean he was pleased that he was about to hear something he knew he wasn't going to like. "What's that supposed to mean?" His question came out more like a growl, and he sharply exhaled.

The one in the black jacket, torn jeans with beat up sneakers, and a black snapback with some famous name brand logo printed on the front of it with dark green eyes, pale skin, a ruddy red hair. Keith counted, including him, five of them, and each sported something similar in clothing style. While he may know how to give a beat down when needed, he wasn't sure if he could take on five people without being a superhuman.

The one he bumped shoulders with sneered. "She's princess hard-ass." And his friends laughed. "You know, she's all bone that I doubt anyone would ever find her attractive."

His vision clouded red.

"She even thinks she's so smart, even though she's just a little girl," the other one dressed in just a white tank top and baggy pants snorted. "She doesn't fit in with all the big kids, and quite frankly, she should go back."

"Then why the hell are you wasting your time?" The words left him before he realized he said them. It whipped out, clipped and harsh, in a way that had their sneers slowly fade from their visages.

"That's none of your business, now is it?" the red jacket snapped.

"It is when Pidge is involved." Keith took an intimidating step forward.

The other mimicked him and his mouth split across his face in a sneer with the straightening of his back. And then he slammed his hand against Keith's chest and shoulder that he was forced to take a step back.

"Going to resort to violence?" Keith couldn't keep himself from shaking from sheer anger. But he didn't immediately lash out as he should since this was an issue Keith had previously in Junior high and he had promised not to repeat that mistake.

"Can't fight back, huh?" The one in the black jacket pushed harder against Keith's chest.

" _Stop_."

"Pussying out?" Another push.

Keith really would rather do this anywhere else but the place where he was studying.

And another push—this time—it was hard enough that it shoved him to the ground. There were scattered whispers around him and he could only glower. Despite the fact that he knew he had a temper and that the urge to deck him was damn near overwhelming, he had to pause and think about his and Pidge's future. He wasn't going to ruin it because of a couple of idiots were being bullies.

Pushing himself to stand, he scoffed. "Does it make you feel better that you're fighting and pushing me around like a teenage bully?"

There was a small form of victory that came from his words, watching as the group of them all lose their smug grins.

"Kyle, I think it's time we beat this kid into submission," the one in the red jacket said, cracking his knuckles. "Gotta teach him a lesson or two."

"Or ten," Kyle said, he wore the black jacket and was the one that had been blatantly pushing him around.

The quick-moving footsteps nearby caught his attention, and from the corner of his eye, he spotted Pidge before returning his attention to the group in front of him. Recalling Pidge's description, he pieced together that this was the group of people that hung around Rick. Strangely, Rick was not among them.

"If we're gonna brawl, you should've brought more friends." Keith cracked his knuckles, hoping the show of intimidation did something. Crossing his arms and from the corner of his eye, he could see Pidge pulling out her phone and quickly dialing the number for what he could only hope was the campus security.

Their eyes flashed, and a stocky male teacher appeared just as Kyle took a step forward.

"Hey, break it up—what's going on here?" A professor pushed their way to the middle of the students. Kyle and his friends immediately scowled and pushed their way back through the crowd and away from the teacher. When the teacher finally made it to the center of the crowd, Kyle and his friends were gone and it only left Keith standing in the center.

"What happened?" the teacher asked, placing his hands on his hips and gave Keith a scrutinizing glance.

Keith shrugged.

With another sigh, the teacher broke up the crowd that had surrounded them, dispersing the group that Pidge made her way through.

"Keith…"

Without looking her way, he finally unclenched his fists.

Her hand touched to his arm, and he turned to face her. Their gazes found one another's and his mouth pressed into a thin line. Without a word, he took her hand into his, and they left the food court.

It's when they were finally heading back to the motorcycle did Pidge speak up, breaking the silence at last.

"Keith—you know, what they said was just to piss you off," she murmured. "You could've ignored them."

His hand tightened around hers that he slowly turned to face her. Keith sighed and leaned against the bike in a direction that it wouldn't tip. "I know, but I can't let them talk crap about you. I wasn't going to, but—"

"You needed to take into consideration of the future," Pidge finished for him. His gaze dropped, watching her arms encircle her abdomen. Like she was, he was heavily weighing the options they had for the coming future and to go and blow it out of proportions because of his temper wasn't going to fly. He knew that the moment he had accepted this as his future.

But, oh, how he wanted to punch that asshole's face.

"Thanks, Keith."

Keith raised his gaze back to Pidge, unable to help the small smile that managed to make its way to his lips. "No problem." His hand tugged on the one hand that pressed against her side, pulling her closer so that she stood between his legs. "I mean, what are boyfriends for?"

There was a small smile that reflected, and he knew that they were both thinking about things other than just the confrontation that could've gone wrong.

While the word felt foreign when he spoke, and didn't quite match the relationship they had, Keith knew that they were together and that was all that mattered.

"But, they seemed relatively harmless," Pidge finally said, after a moment of quiet had passed. "They don't seem like the type that would be doing the things that have been happening—Rick doesn't seem at all involved."

"Don't write him out just yet," Keith said with the lift of his brow. "While he might've not been there when his friends pretty much just started some bullshit, he was the reason why we were looking into his friends in the first place. And they're not looking quite so hot, even if they don't have any kind of real motive that would lead them trying to—well—you know."

The discomfort from the words that he had held on the tip of his tongue was evident, and he could see it in the way Pidge's eyes showed a myriad of conflicting emotions that only matched with his own. Her grip tightened around his fingers.

"Yeah, I know," Pidge whispered. She released his fingers to wrap her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.

Keith wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him as much as possible, and pressed his face into the crook of her neck.

They were both worried.

They headed back to the apartment, meeting up with Matt as Pidge had planned. Matt and Keith double checked all the locks and windows and found that there was a broken window lock that seemed to have been tampered with. Matt leaves to buy the necessary parts to repair it and left Keith with Pidge so that she wasn't alone. After following instructions from Shiro about how to secure the apartment, they prepped for game night.

By the time evening rolled around, Allura was eager to change game night into a mystery game night of finding out "who had done it," and Keith wasn't sure if he was entirely in the mood for it. The next day, he realized when his phone reminded him of the appointment, was when he was going to their first appointment and see the baby for the first time. Even while watching Pidge, he noted that she didn't seem any different, and yet, there was a feeling in his chest that warmed him in a way that was different from anything he had ever felt before.

Allura presented people she suspected that might've had cause and reason to do what they did, but when Shiro pointed out that it was highly unlikely that each of those reasons would escalate to the point of attempted murder, each of them fell flat.

"Allura, as great as this is that you're trying to find the bottom of this, in the end, we're not the police—let them handle it," Hunk said as he sunk into the couch.

"And there's not much else we can do," Shiro nodded, affirming Hunk's words. "As much as we would like to have some power over this, we don't have much without knowing backgrounds and questioning people with the necessary authority."

Lance leaned forward on his elbows, resting them on his knees. "You've already done all that you can." He smiled in reassurance as he rose to stand. "You already talked to the police about everything and they seemed to have taken your words seriously."

They were doing another repeat of the other night.

"Okay, we're going nowhere with this," Matt said, breaking up the conversation. "I think what we should focus on is the apparent person that may or may not be stalking be Pidge."

"Matt!" Pidge exclaimed.

"Wait, hold up." Hunk shook his head and lifted his hand to signal for a pause. "Someone's stalking Pidge? And we're only just _now_ finding out about this _why_?"

There was an emphasis on the "why" that Keith lifted a brow.

"Who the heck is stalking you?" Lance asked, looking at the smaller's direction.

"You think we'd be talking about this if I knew who it was?" Pidge quirked a brow, unamused by Lance's inquiry.

"I recommend that Pidge always has at least one of us be with her, whatever she's doing," Matt suggested, glancing in his sister's direction again before facing everyone else. "That way, we can watch her back."

"Matt… guys..." Pidge tightened her grip that her hands turned into a fist. Her eyes narrowed, and she clenched her jaw, her gaze cast down to her feet.

"I think that's a good idea," Shiro agreed. "Until we find out what's going on or until the police find out whoever it is that's doing this."

"Pidge, we're all here for you, alright?" Lance murmured, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded but said nothing.

Allura clapped her hands together. "I'll let Coran know that we might have to invest in some guards for the property, seeing as how my apartment's security is compromised." There was a note of frustration in Allura's tone that Keith didn't blame her for. She sighed.

There seemed to be an unspoken rule that until Pidge and Keith had a moment to properly talk to one another about the baby, they wouldn't bring the subject up. It was apparent when Allura and Shiro both changed the topic and began to talk about the rest of the summer. Allura wanted to plan the last few events they could do together that Hunk, Lance, and Matt eagerly joined in on the planning.

Keith rose to stand and headed to the balcony, sliding open the door, and leaning his weight on the railing. Glancing down, he observed the little traffic that drove through the streets below and the sense of peace that washed over him, despite the unrest he felt. He could still hear his friends talking in the background amid the buzzing of the cicadas outside.

The black screen door slid open and closed again, and he felt her approach his side without even looking.

"You doing okay?" she asked, bumping her shoulder against his side.

"I'm fine, but the question is, are _you_ okay?" Keith inquired softly, looking back at the girl and he watched as she didn't respond. Her gaze faced into the same distance he was looking at just moments ago and returned his attention to the streets.

He had wanted to punch Kyle's face in like he deserved for calling Pidge those names, and he wanted to beat them until his knuckles were bloodied, just like his face would've been. But, punching on school grounds would've resulted in losing his scholarship and then, the future he had been working so hard for himself. And now, the little lifeform that had yet to breathe life.

Not only that, but he wanted to vent his frustrations for being powerless. Keith had no control over the circumstances that surrounded Pidge and how it seemed to be focusing on her. A stalker, an attempted murder, and most importantly, being unable to fight for her when he felt it mattered most without the use of his fists.

Pidge rested her head against his shoulder when he slumped, resting his chin on his arms. Her hands came to rest on his bicep, squeezing him slightly, and she sighed. Keith knew she was just as tired of this as he was and they were both sick of whoever it was that decided to wreck this kind of havoc on her life.

She didn't deserve it.

"Keith! Pidge!"

They turned their heads back into the living room, and Lance stood holding what looked to be a board game. With a mischievous gleam in his eye, he grinned. "Ready to get your asses whooped?"

The tension in his shoulders eased and Keith released a breath he didn't know he was holding. Maybe that was all he needed—just some time to forget about the world, even if it was just for a moment, and not worry about the bigger picture. Still, he couldn't help his hand from reaching for Pidge, taking her hand and squeezing it. If not for reassurance, it was a reminder.

A reminder that they had each other and their friends.

He let go.

"In your dreams, Lance," Keith retorted without heat, sliding the screen door so he could step back inside.

He missed how Pidge smiled after him.

* * *

Pidge sat nervously in the obstetrician's office. Beside her, Keith was leaning back into the plush leather seats of the office. Despite the fact he wasn't doing much, she could tell by the hard gaze that practically glared at the door to the back office that he was nervous. (Pidge liked to think so.) But, there was something about him that had an edge to him that wasn't like the other times he was nervous and it rolled off of him in waves, clashing with her own. There wasn't anyone else in the office aside from this one other female teen that sat in the corner with a magazine and the receptionist.

It was nerve-racking.

Her leg started to fidget, bouncing up and down, and her hands began to clench and unclench continuously around itself that Keith's hand eventually reached out and took ahold of her one hand.

Leaning forward, he murmured, "It'll be okay, Pidge." She wondered if he saying that to himself or for them both.

Turning toward him, she leaned against him. "I know, but I'm—I'm nervous."

He squeezed her hand, and she couldn't help but squeeze back. Somehow, that steady and tight grip grounded her, and she heaved a ragged sigh. Her heart was fluttering for reasons she knew related to nerves.

"Me too," Keith admitted quietly. He gave a deep exhalation and relaxed his grip that she followed suit. Having his hand in hers was steadying that her leg stopped fidgeting. It was calming.

"Katie?"

They both turned to the nurse that came out, a folder in hand with a gentle smile.

Pidge stood up and followed after the nurse, never once letting go of Keith's hand. Some procedurals led to her being alone, but soon, she was set up with the prenatal ultrasound and Keith was sitting beside her. They exchanged anxious glances.

"Nervous?" The nurse asked while she prepped the machine.

"A bit," Pidge confessed. "I know it's not going to hurt or anything but, _still_."

Keith squeezed her hand.

The nurse, named Bethany, turned to face them and smiled reassuringly with a solemn nod. "Understandable. When I had my first, I was a little scared too. I had my husband with me, on every step of the way, and that had made it easier for me."

Pidge turned to Keith, who in turn, gave a weak smile in reply. He was paler than usual and there was that discomforting flutter of concern. Instead, she gave his hand another squeeze and he merely nodded. Even with her own hands being clammy, his felt unusually warm and was perhaps even just as sweaty as her own.

"Alright, now, this is going to feel cold so bear with me," Bethany warned. She placed a jelly-like substance on her lower abdomen and Pidge winced, despite it. Soon enough, it warmed and her tense muscles relaxed.

Without a word, Bethany picked up a small looking handle, hooked into the machine, and pressed it against the area of the smeared gel. Again, it was cold when the gel was applied. But the thought of it even being remotely freezing was quickly forgotten when she heard the faint sound of a heart beating. When the machine moved closer, the heartbeat became louder.

Pidge's gaze shot to the screen.

There, on screen, was the distinct outline of a small human—a baby.

It was overwhelming.

She blinked back tears, surprised, and heard the sharp intake of breath next to her. "Keith," she whispered.

"That's a baby," he gasped. He sounded strained, happy, but tense. When she turned to get a look at him finally, there were tears in his eyes that he was rapidly trying to blink back. Keith squeezed her hand so tight; she thought she would lose feeling in them.

"Congratulations, you're eleven weeks pregnant!"

Eleven weeks and Pidge could barely tell that she had a bump at all. She was so small that she thought she would've at least started showing, but it hadn't happened yet. So when she opened her mouth to ask, Bethany smiled.

"Don't worry too much about your baby bump; every pregnancy is different and some people show very early and some don't really show," she explained. Her eyes were still on the screen as she then continued to explain that the baby was healthy and was coming along well as was expected. After a few more questions and an informative conversation, the obstetrician came into the room and Pidge and Keith repeated the same questions, and the doctor asked more in-depth inquiries about her overall health.

It's only at the end of the appointment did they ask if they wanted a picture of the baby. When they responded that they'd like one, Bethany smiled again and their doctor, Dr. Lin, nodded. "We'll get that out for you when you leave."

And now, they were heading home from the appointment with the black and white smooth picture of their baby safely secured in her bag. Pidge couldn't wait to go back and share it with her family and everyone else.

After driving through traffic, Pidge frowned when she noticed that Keith was driving a little further than usual. They were going in the wrong direction that would head to her apartment and it wasn't in the direction of Keith's either. Heck, it wasn't in anyone's familiar direction that would lead to her friends and family.

Lifting a hand to a small device that was attached to the helmet so she could speak to him between their helmets, she spoke, "Hey, Keith, where are we going?"

"Losing the dude that's following us," was his curt reply. "Hold on."

He lifted a hand to her hand that was already wrapped around his torso for a tap. Following the lessons she had learned from when they first started riding together, she leaned forward until her entire frame was flush to his back. Her hands gripped her arms and she adjusted herself so that she rested as comfortably as she could against him.

Once Keith was satisfied with how secure she became from being wrapped around him, the motorcycle revved loudly, and there was a quick jolt in acceleration.

Speeding through traffic like a needle weaving through a fabric, Keith shifted and turned his head back after several minutes of quick driving and took a sharp banking turn. A few blocks later, he took another turn. And he repeated these maneuvers for several long minutes until he pulled the motorcycle into one of the many parking garages in the downtown of the city.

He pulled his bike into the parking space filled with many other motorbikes and had Pidge climb off as he parked. Keith skillfully maneuvered the bike into place among the others and within minutes, it's locked and secured, and they were on their way out of the structure with her hand in Keith's.

It was only once they were in a park that was nearby, filled with activity of families playing with their children, that they finally had a semblance of truly slowing down. The sense of urgency dwindled and Pidge's heart rate eventually began to calm. Keith had taken the lead and settled on a park bench that overlooked a small field where a group of kids was running around with a frisbee and a golden retriever was running eagerly with them.

Sitting down, Pidge set down the helmet to her left where Keith was resting comfortably on her right. She placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath. Now that she was genuinely calm, she asked, "Keith, who was following us?"

Keith had his cautious gaze idly wandering the area and never quite settling on one clear thing to focus his attention. There was a guarded look about him and it took him a moment before he finally responded. "I think it was the stalker."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "What? How'd you figure that out?"

"I've been seeing the same make and model car hovering around your apartment for the last week since we came back," he explained. "It was weird, and I thought I lost it on the way to the doctor's today, but when we were about halfway home, I noticed it was following us again."

Pidge looked around but whichever car it was, it clearly wasn't around because Keith didn't seem so tense as he did earlier. In fact, he leaned back against the bench and his guarded expression softened ever so slightly when he seemed satisfied that whatever he was looking for wasn't there. What's more, she didn't feel like she was being watched here. Unlike the time at the apartment and a few occasional times after that, the feeling was completely gone.

With another sigh, she also leaned back against the bench.

"Well, I'm glad they're gone."

"I'm glad I lost them."

"Glad you know how to."

"You can thank Shiro for that," Keith chuckled.

There were only sounds of children playing in the distance with the rustling of the tree's leaves above them that peace seemed to wash over them. Pidge was enjoying the gentle summer breeze that blew them by that continued to rustle the green leaves above them. The smell of freshly cut grass and barbeque smoke wafting through the air genuinely reminded her that this was summer. She didn't know how much time had passed before Keith finally broke the companionable silence.

"I always wanted to be a dad, you know," he said suddenly.

She turned her head slowly to face him. This must've been something he had been thinking about for a long time. And for him to bring it up like this, he was ready. He looked into the distance and she knew that he wasn't here anymore. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans and he was relaxed against the bench.

"My dad was all I had, once," he spoke softly. "It was just the two of us for a good while. I knew he was a firefighter and that he fought to save people with what power he had. He was a great man, and I was proud to have him as my dad."

At this very moment, was the first time Pidge was learning anything about Keith's family, and all she could keep remembering was the boy who sat alone in the hospital.

Was that the same boy? Was their world that small? Did she genuinely meet him at the hospital and gave a promise that she wished she had properly fulfilled? Was it truthfully a memory rather than a dream, like she had initially thought it was?

"When I was seven, I lost him. He died in a fire, trying to save this family of six, and their youngest was stuck under a beam. She was a small kid—five at the time and was in tears. He managed to get the beam off the kid and his partner got the kid out, but another beam came crashing through the floor from above them and my dad pushed them out of the way before they had time to react."

Pidge shuffled closer, sitting close enough that her shoulder brushed his and their arms were barely touching one another. His warmth was a comfort to her that she hoped it was the same for him. Keith silently responded with a small nudge of his arm, and his darkened gaze flickered briefly in her direction with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"That was how I met Shiro and his family. I was a kid in the system and they happened to be my first foster family. I don't know what they saw in me, but they saw something and adopted me after I got into some trouble. I don't know why or what came over Shiro's parents to adopt me after all the trouble I gave them, but they took me in. Shiro told me it was because he convinced them—he believed in me."

Pidge hesitated, wondering how she should ask. The little boy in the hospital haunted her. His _words_ haunted her.

 _"Not here. Not anymore. And mom's… mom's… not here."_

The two statements had her wondering if she had misheard or if he was merely confused.

"But, what about your mom?"

Keith didn't answer. At least, he would tell her one day, but Pidge wouldn't get to hear the story until much later. Shifting in his seat so that Keith sat upright, he leaned forward and lifted his gaze from his lap to her. Tilting his head, he gave a dark smile and turned away.

"The Shirogane's were really nice and they were the first people to show me what a real family was like. I had almost five good years of what a family was like—of what it _felt_ like. Those years were as irreplaceable as the time I spent with my dad. But I don't think I always fit in. It was always the Shirogane's and the Kogane. It was though there was an invisible line of separation that separated me from them.

"So, I told myself that when I was old enough that I was going to have my own family. I wanted to make my own and make it so that whoever it is that ended with me as their dad, that I wouldn't leave them." Keith gave another small shake of his head. "I wouldn't because I don't want to be like them; I wanted a place that I could finally call my own."

Pidge waited until he stopped talking before she found her voice again. "Keith…" Pidge began softly. She reached out and touched his arm. "You do have a place—with me, with our friends, and of course, with Shiro. _He's_ your family, isn't he?"

Keith nodded. "What Shiro and I went through when we lost Mr. and Mrs. Shirogane—I don't think there's a lot of people that could understand what we went through. That makes Shiro really important to me and he _is_ family. He really is."

He pulled his hands out of his pockets and turned, so he faced her where they sat. Keith took her hand into his. It looked like he still had something else to tell Pidge that she wasn't sure if she should press on and ask or leave it be. But with how big that story was about his dad and the tragedy that had befallen Shiro's parents, Pidge decided that it was perhaps best to leave it for another day.

Pidge covered his hands with her free hand and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, Keith," she murmured.

Keith's head shot up, eyes wide with surprise. "For what?"

"For telling me. You didn't have to, but you did."

He briefly averted his gaze. "Only because I felt like you deserved to know."

Pidge bumped her head gently against his. "Keith, thank you. It must've painful for you. You know, in telling me about all of this."

The male could only nod again. "Only Shiro and the people involved know. Everyone else doesn't know—not even Allura, and she generally tends to find out."

Pidge remembered the scattered papers of Rick and his friends on their shared apartment dining room table and could only chuckle. It was something that they both shared.

"Come on; I think it's time we head home." Keith pulled away and stood up to stretch with his arms over his head.

She snickered. "Yeah—I'm starved." Pidge followed suit. She stretched where she stood, surprised by how stiff she suddenly felt from sitting in one position so long. Grabbing the motorcycle helmet, they headed off and contemplated their meal options.

"Burgers?" Keith suggested.

"No, but maybe that one place that opened on—"

He scowled. "No, we're not doing that rundown Chinese noodle place."

Pidge pouted. "Aw, why not?"

"Pidge, I said rundown."

"Fine! Then what do you want?"

"How about some Vietnamese noodles?" he smirked.

Pidge wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, really? We go there to eat and the restaurant's broth and smells just _cling_ to us when we get home."

Keith's smirk grew more prominent. "I'm driving so you have no choice, do you?"

She groaned but peeked up at him to find the small smile was on his face. The tension had left him, and he seemed more relaxed than he had been all day. Ah, that was probably also the reason why he was pale at the doctor's appointment today.

It's when they get to the parking structure that Keith nudged her. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"... Thanks, Pidge."

While climbing the stairs to the floor the motorcycle was parked on, she looked at him again, and Pidge was unable to stop the corners of her lips from curling.

"No problem."

Hours later, after they had dinner and were back at Keith's apartment, Pidge was sitting on the couch and was trying to find a movie for them to watch for the rest of the night when his phone began to vibrate.

"Keith! Your phone!" she called.

When there was no answer, she sat upright on the couch and looked to where she saw him last. Pidge tried calling for him again. "Keith!" She frowned when he still hadn't responded and sighed. Hoping he didn't mind her picking up his phone, she reached over to grab his phone just as the vibrating ended. Her brow quirked in question.

No voicemail was left. Instead, a text message popped up on screen just as Pidge was about to set it down.

Unknown (8:41 PM): See you in two days! (;

Pidge squinted at the message, thrown into confusion by the vague text. At first, she wanted nothing more than to believe and have faith in Keith that he would never cheat on her. (Or even have the idea in the first place.) She did, she admitted, but there was no stopping the irrational irritation that exploded. Coupled with the last few stressful days of dealing with her pregnancy, the stalker, and Rick's friends, she had _enough._

The moment Keith appeared through the doorway of his bedroom, Pidge rounded on him.

"So, you wanna explain who're you're gonna see in two days?" she asked with steel in her tone. Holding out the phone to him, she showed the screen's text message.

Keith paused and she watched as his face melted from surprised into something hard. He clenched his jaw and nostrils flared with the narrowing of his eyes. He took a few steps forward and took the phone out of her hand. "Pidge, I didn't realize you were going through people's—"

"I wasn't—it was ringing and I called you to let you know that it was but you didn't answer." Pidge didn't know why she was even explaining this. "Who is that?"

Their eyes met and Keith closed his eyes with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Pidge tried to push down the irrational hurt that was burning her from the inside-out. "Keith, answer me."

He opened his eyes and looked as though he was heavily weighing his options. There was a flicker of hurt that had she been sensible about this—especially after such a soul-bearing conversation earlier in the day—she would've dropped it. But she didn't.

"Keith—"

He dropped his gaze and his hands clenched into fists. "I'm sorry, Pidge," he mumbled, his voice sounding almost strangled. "You have to give me—"

And that was it.

The next thing she knew, she was already out the door and running outside. Pidge didn't know how long she was running for, but she only stopped when her legs and lungs were screaming at her to stop. Coughing as she tried to catch her breath, she wiped a hand on her forehead.

It was an area unfamiliar to her.

Glancing around again, she gulped for air and ran a hand down her face with a groan.

Being outside calmed her and she spent a couple of minutes walking around until she caught her breath. But Pidge stiffened when she realized she was alone. She patted on her jeans' pockets and groaned again when she didn't find the familiar shape of her cell phone. Warily looking around while airing her t-shirt to keep the t-shirt from sticking to her back, she turned on her heel and started heading back. Walking in what she assumed was the general direction of Keith's apartment, she hoped she'd be able to make it back before Keith came out and looked for her.

 _I hope he forgives me,_ she thought with remorse. It wasn't as if she had intentionally acted that way. In a way, reflecting on how she acted had her wince.

After about thirty minutes of wandering around, she eventually made it to the outskirts of a familiar neighborhood and breathed a sigh of relief. Pidge started jogging up to Keith's apartment and entered the apartment complex. It's when she was climbing the stairs did the hairs on the back of her neck raise and goosebumps formed on her arms. Her heart leaped into her throat.

It was as though someone was watching her.

Pidge turned in place, looking around in her attempt of trying to find the source of the gaze but couldn't find anything out of place.

When she turned around again to start heading up the stairs, her skin prickled with awareness of someone drawing closer that she started running up the stairs. Her heart pounded frantically, trying to keep up with the physical demand, and her palms cold with sweat.

She was being chased.

Pidge clenched her jaw with flashing eyes. It was just as she reached for the door that she felt the pursuer round the corner.

Like a practiced dancer, she shifted her body to place her right foot forward with the left foot's heel lifted off the ground. She took a deep breath, raised her hands, and relaxed.

And when they came for her, she dodged their lunging hands and punched.

* * *

 **A/N** : Only one more chapter to go! :3c


End file.
